Be With Me
by SSJL
Summary: The sequel to Talk to Me. B&B discover the joys and tribulations of beginning a life together. In the hallowed tradition, much smangst and fluff to be had! ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: And so it begins…the much-ballyhooed sequel to Talk to Me! I was going to start this off more similarly to TtM, but quickly realized an issue with that…TtM was intended at its conception to be a oneshot (yup…um…didn't exactly work out that way. Whoops). Here, knowing this will be a multi-chap, I wanted to set the stage for a few things. And set the stage I did. Heehee. Get ready for another ride, my friends.**

**You won't have had to have read TtM to understand what's going on here, but it would explain lots of the development and motivation of our lovely characters.**

**Standard disclaimers: Characters aren't mine. This is in the "M" section for a very good reason—lots and lots of smut. Just for adults, please!**

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Lying on her stomach with her ankles crossed behind her, she was determined to lose herself in her reading. Dental variations in racial estimations. Very interesting. But somehow, she had been rereading the same paragraph for the past 15 minutes—as soon as she finished it, she realized that none of it was retained. Never one to give up, she stubbornly kept trying, and was so engrossed in her efforts that she nearly had a heart attack when she suddenly felt a body land on top of her back in the bed.

"Don't move." His hands grabbed her wrists and his hips pushing her own firmly into the bed. "This is a robbery. I'm taking all of your clothes." His lips buried into the back of her neck and assaulted her with kisses there.

"Jesus, Booth." She was half laughing and half gasping with surprise, having dropped her journal beside the pillow. "You shouldn't scare me like that. I might think you are a real intruder and attack you." Despite her words, she didn't try to resist him, laying her head down so he could have more access to kiss her.

"Like you didn't know it was me. Who else would feel this good on top of you? And just in case you're wondering, there is only _one _right answer to that particular question."

In assent, she wiggled her ass against him, giving him something to get excited about. "So, is there a particular reason that you've come here, disturbing my reading, _other _than to molest me?"

"Nope, that's it," he told her, finally releasing her and allowing her to buck him off of her, to her side. He grinned at her. "Oh…and the little matter of talking about that place…"

That's what she had been worrying about. "We might have talked that one to death, Booth," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder to get a better look at him.

"But we haven't _resolved _anything." It came out decidedly like a whine, and she had to laugh at him.

"You mean you haven't convinced me of anything yet."

Dr. Temperance Brennan, the queen of independence and autonomy and the world's foremost authority on _taking care of herself, _had agreed to live with her partner and lover Seeley Booth after months of a romantic relationship that had grown increasingly, undeniably intense. Before all of this began, she would have scoffed at the idea of even considering what he was offering her. But now…well, now it seemed next to impossible to _not _devote herself to this, to make a choice to _not _be with him. This man, his son, and their relationship had steadily risen in importance in her life until they became valuable as her job, her family—and herself. Pushing aside her fears about being vulnerable, she was allowing herself to fall headfirst into this shared world.

She had entrusted him with investigating potential places for them to live, a task which he had undertaken with enthusiasm. Yesterday they had spent time looking at these places that he had chosen. She quickly noticed a pattern. "Booth," she had said, slowly, as if speaking to a small child. "These are not apartments. These are _houses."_

He had shrugged, innocently. "We didn't say it had to be an apartment."

She put her hand on his shoulder and ushered him away from the prying eyes of the realtor. "This might be my fault. I don't know if I ever told you this before. But I'm definitely an _apartment _person. When something goes wrong, I like just being able to call the landlord to come fix it. I like not having to mow the grass or shovel the snow. Houses—way too much domestic responsibility there." She looked at him expectantly, assuming that he'd get all this.

"You don't need a landlord when you've got Mr. Fixit around." He winked at her and tried to pull her back to realtor, nonplussed.

"We can't get a house," she said plainly, more emphatically now, but he shushed her.

"We're just looking. No harm in looking, right?"

She knew better then, and now, lying on the bed in his apartment while he looked at her with his persuasive eyes and smile, she struggled to put on her game face. "There's absolutely no reason we need a place that big. I mean, there's just the two of us…we're at work most of the time, and when we're at home…well…we're usually in bed anyway."

"I seem to recall us making good use of all the other rooms, as well."

She shoved him indignantly, and he had to grip the edge of the bed to keep from falling off. "I meant we're usually only here to _sleep." _It was hard not to laugh at his expression. She softened her tone. "Why do you want this so badly, anyway?"

His voice turned serious. "Just think, Bones. It wouldn't be that much different than having an apartment—but we'd have more privacy, wouldn't be sharing a wall with anyone. We wouldn't be dumping our money into the garbage every month with rent. And we'd have more space for Parker when he comes…not just a bedroom, but a playroom, and a yard."

Her face was still doubtful.

"Plus," he admitted, "I want something that we can really make _ours _together. Something we can share."

"We share pretty much everything, Booth."

"Something _material. _Something that, if anybody asks, I can point to it and tell them it belongs to us_."_ he insisted. He wasn't entirely sure how to explain this desire to her…in many ways, she was right. On the surface, there was little difference if they shared a house or an apartment. But there was something intensely symbolic about this whole thing to him, and it was difficult to convey the importance of this. Maybe he shouldn't be so pushy; at least she had accepted his proposition that they share their lives together in this way, and he had been thankful for this. Still was. But strangely, the more he got, the more he wanted, and he was finding it increasingly difficult to accept anything from her but _everything. _

"You remember what I said about the white picket fence, right? Not me. Will _never _be me."

"I remember. No fences, I promise. Just…let's go take another look today. I bet the place will have grown on you." His smile was winning, and he stroked her hair in the way that always gave her a little shiver.

"And if I'm still not convinced then?"

"Then we'll look for something different." Damn the man and how convincing he could be when he looked at her like that. She was saved from his charming ways by the ring of his phone. "We'll talk about this later." Sliding off the bed after kissing her cheek, he went to find his phone.

Sighing, she realized that the getting caught up on research thing just wasn't happening at this point on a Sunday afternoon—apparently she had more on her mind than she was willing to acknowledge about what all these changes meant in her life. Tossing the abandoned journal aside, she stood and immediately felt dizzy. Sugar. She needed sugar.

Maneuvering her way out of the bedroom, she heard Booth's voice filtering in from the other room…"Hey dad, what's up…oh, he got another promotion already? That's just great. But we just _had _a party for him…" Catching his eye in the living room, she mouthed the word 'chocolate' and pretended to be eating a candy bar. He pointed to the top shelf of the pantry, and she rummaged through until she found what she was looking for—chocolate teddy grahams leftover from Parker's last visit. She pawed through the box hungrily. "You know I want to, but it's not always that easy just to drop everything and come to PA for the weekend. Temperance and I are looking into getting a place together and…what? Don't you think I'd tell you if we got engaged?" He paused. "Aw Dad, don't start laying that guilt trip on me now…I'm 35 years old." Mostly unconcerned with whatever was happening on the phone, she wandered in and collapsed on the couch with her chocolate treasure, much more engrossed in the contents of the box than she had been with the contents of her journal. "Dad…just…don't worry about it. We'll do our best to be there, okay?" She looked up at him a little irritated at the implied "we," but he ignored her as he wrapped up his call. "Okay…alright…tell Mom and Jared I said hi…"

When he finished, she popped another cookie into her mouth. "What was that about?"

"Dad…he's just…" He was distracted then. "Since when are you such a cookie monster?"

She shrugged. "I just wanted something sweet."

"Well all you had to do is _ask." _Sitting beside her, he took the box from her hands and kissed her thoroughly while she half-responded, and half made an effort to get her chocolate back. Finally, he released her. "Jared got a promotion. For the second time in about six months. So of course, we have to make a big deal out of it and eat cake."

"Cake sounds good. Why do you sound so jealous? I'm sure your parents would do the same thing if you got a promotion."

"I'm not jealous. It's this Saturday. They want us to be there."

She sighed. "So this is what it's like? Having family obligations?"

"Fun, isn't it?" He grinned at her.

"I'm not sure I can make it. There's a lot to be done in the lab."

"C'mon. It's the least you could do for my parents after forcing their son to live in sin."

Her mouth dropped open. "Forcing you!"

He laughed. "I love this conversation. But for now, we need to go take a second look at that house over on the North side."

"Why do I feel like you are always trying to convince me of something? One of these days, I'm going to be on _your _case about something you are reluctant to do. Then you'll see how it feels," she grumbled, dragging herself to her feet and reluctantly abandoning her treat in favor of her purse and keys.

"Now how would I _not _know how that feels when you are bugging me for sex all the time?"

The last sound that echoed in the apartment was a resounding _smack_.

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They had picked the keys to the place up from the realtor after Booth promised her that they were really, _really _interested in the place and needed to take a closer look, and Brennan had to admit that it was nice to examine the house leisurely, out from under the realtor's watchful eye. She wandered through. It was nice. Spacious rooms. Hardwood floors. She hadn't lived in a house like this since she was 16 years old, and even then it hadn't belonged to her—it was her foster parents'. The idea of being in a place like this felt completely foreign to her. In the room that was likely the master bedroom, there was a large picture window, once of the most beautiful features of the house. Drawing the blinds, she gazed out onto the yard. It was lush and green; there were bushes to each side, and beyond that she could see a bit into the neighbor's yards. A sandbox…a child's bike…this was a family place. She didn't belong here.

Booth came up beyond her; she heard his approach from the slight creaking of the non-yet-carpeted floors, so it didn't surprise her when she felt his arm around her. "What do you think?" he asked her, his voice filled with hope.

"It's nice. You _know _I think it's nice."

"It's us. It's made for us."

She rolled her eyes. "How do you figure?"

"It's a feeling I get."

"It's too big. It's too much."

"That's what we thought about _us _in the beginning, too." Looking out the window one last time, he reached out and closed the blinds. "Temperance. It's the perfect place for us to start living together. We can afford it. It's beautiful." He took her hands. "We deserve a place like this."

She breathed in deeply, and smelled the well-polished floors. She looked around the empty room, nervously. "I don't know, Booth…"

"Well…let's see if I can give you the feeling that I'm getting right now." He pulled her closer to him, nuzzled her neck, and she sighed. "Seriously, though, Bones…I want you to be comfortable wherever we are. I don't want to coerce you into anything. But this reluctance I'm feeling from you…I'm not sure where it's coming from." His hands threaded through her hair and tugged her head back slightly. "Is it coming from here…" He kissed her forehead. "Or here…" Bending over slightly, he kissed her chest, right over her heart.

"It's coming from me being unsure about my suitability for this kind of domesticity," she replied honestly, touching his head to encourage his staying at the open collar of her shirt, suckling there occasionally.

"It's just a place, baby," he told her, his voice as soft as his kisses. "We make it suitable. We make it feel right." Raising his head, he looked seriously into her eyes, and was pleased by the desire he saw there.

"How do we do that?" she asked, a little breathlessly. She sounded innocent, but by now Booth knew her better than that. When it came to knowing what she did to him, there wasn't an innocent bone in her body. Her smile was a little coy.

Suddenly, he didn't feel like being gentle anymore. He swiftly lifted her and, growling, pushed her against the bare wall of the room. She widened her eyes at his change in demeanor, but her smile didn't leave her face, and she tightened her legs around his hips. "You sure this won't decrease the value of the house?"

"Are you kidding? If anything, the value will _increase." _He pushed his mouth up and into hers, hungrily. "Mmm. You taste like chocolate."

"I bet my mouth isn't the only part of me that tastes good," she whispered breathily, and her words made him involuntarily buck his hips up into hers, the ridge of his hardness in his pants catching her between her legs. A smile crossed her face at the effect she was having on him; he caught that look and she could practically read his own expression in return. _'Damn tease.' _Oh, she was getting _much _better at this, knowing what he was thinking.

"You want this, baby?" She nodded. "How?"

She considered, enjoying the obvious frustration he was feeling at having to wait for her answer. "How did we do it last night?" she asked, sweetly. She remembered damn well how they did it last night.

"Slow and gentle," he said between gritted teeth. His hands slid underneath her top, caressed her heated flesh there, and for a second her cocky confidence left her face as she gasped. The empty room and the bare floors caused the noises they made to echo, amplifying the sounds of their desire.

"Well then…I suppose it's time for hard and fast." Without waiting for further instruction, he dropped her to her feet and spun her a little roughly so her chest was against the wall, his hands sliding over her demandingly. His actions reminded of her of the dozens of times she had seen him arresting an uncooperative suspect. Of course, she was being _completely _cooperative. Couldn't help but be, really…his hands were doing magic things to her skin. Turned around, she couldn't see what he was going to do to her next, and her body thrummed in anticipation of his next touch.

"Arms up," he told her, and she complied.

"You going to cuff me?" she asked. She had meant to say it teasingly, but her voice was quivery now, betraying her arousal.

"You wish." He pulled her shirt up and over her head; when the garment was on the floor, he immediately went to work on her back and shoulders with his mouth and tongue until she was shivering. Her position made it easy for him to unhook her bra, and he dispensed of it quickly. Liking this position but unwilling to go without seeing her, he took her by the shoulders and spun her around, taking in her bare-chested form in front of him. "Very nice," he said admiringly.

She had to chuckle a little. "I suppose I should be happy that even though we've been doing this for months now, you still ogle me like a teenager."

Oh, _absolutely. _He couldn't get over being able to look at her like this—every time he did, he felt the a little thrill of the slightly forbidden, a treat that he had held himself back from for a long, long time before finally giving in and gorging himself. Remembering that she had asked for hard and fast, he reached for her now. Her breasts looked ripe for him…even fuller than usual, and he silently reminded himself to keep the woman supplied with chocolate if it was going to contribute to this beautifully voluptuous figure. When he squeezed her and tugged on her hard nipples, her moan and reliance on the wall for balance told him that she was especially sensitive today, as well.

As much as she was enjoying this treatment, she had been enjoying his tough-cop routine. While he teased her breasts, she struggled to wiggle out of her pants and undo his, as well. They fell from his muscular thighs and she sighed in approval. Kissing him hard one more time, she flipped around again, facing away from him and bracing herself against the wall.

Oh, no _way. _It struck him that every which way they did this was always the best ever. He loved making love with her while facing her, gazing into her gorgeous eyes while he made her come. He loved her on top of him, where he could watch those sexy breasts above him while she rode him. Now, this…well, what a perfect view of her lovely backside, and the perfect, tapered shape of her waist before it flared into the roundness of her hips. His hands touched those parts of her.

"Enough," she groaned, tiring of the erotic torment of his hands on her bare flesh in this new place. Stubbornly, she swayed her bottom back towards him, where it brushed against the stiffness of his erection.

"You sure?" he whispered into her ear. Dumb question. She pushed back harder. Taking hold of her hips, he lined himself up with her, without hesitation this time, thrust hard into her, while and the same time pulling her hips back to meet him.

Almost immediately, a silky ribbon of pleasurable tension tightened around her womb. She loved the feeling of being pulled by him. Her palm were flattened against the wall, but her fingers now curled, nails coming dangerously close to chipping off the new paint. Tossing her head and looking behind her, she saw him watching intently the length of himself slipping in and out of her, and she had to smile. He was _such _a voyeur sometimes. She pushed back against the wall to meet him. One of his hands stayed at her hip; the other dipped between her legs in the front so that he could brush her aroused clit with his fingertips in time with his strokes. God yes. Hard and fast _definitely _had its charms.

He became entranced by this rhythm, by this woman, as the most sensitive part of his body was milked repeatedly by a heat that was wetter and tighter than he had ever known. As typically happened at this point, words fell from his lips, mostly unconsciously, but still as honest as he ever was with her. "So…good…we…belong…here…love…you…so…fuckin…much." And him talking was all well and good to her, because it was always in that low throaty voice full of pre-ejaculatory bliss that got her hot every time.

She pushed off the wall hard a few more times, forcing him into her body as hard and deep into her as she could, getting him to touch that place inside of her that made her lose control. The combination of all this stimulation quickly brought her to a plateau, which she struggled to suspend at for as long as possible. There were few better feelings in the world than that second of almost unbearable tension, right before hurtling over the edge with her lover. Feeling her shudders and the little waves of her sex undulating against his bare cock, he groaned and joined her in this fall. "Come with me baby," he moaned, thrusting hard, rubbing her hard, and panting into her ear as the pleasure washed over both of them.

After a few moments of labored breathing, he could no longer handle having so little of her against him, so he pulled he back up standing, wrapping his arms around her while she reached up and back, cupping the back of his neck and twisting around to kiss him, hard. They stayed joined into it wasn't physically possible anymore. Exhausted, now, they both slumped against the wall.

"Now, if that doesn't prove we can live here, nothing will," he told her, still trying to catch his breath.

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Following that logic, we could just as easily live in an airplane bathroom," she pointed out, referencing another of their more adventurous exploits.

"Touché," he agreed, reaching out and pulling her to him, so her head was laying on his shoulder. They were quiet for a minute.

Finally, she spoke. "I'm willing to give it a try," she told him softly. His growing grin made her feel like she made the right decision. "_But," _she said, emphatically, "I have first dibs on making the next major decision in our relationship."

"Absolutely," he declared, hugging her and kissing the top of her head. But deep inside, he was thinking that really, there were no more major decisions to be made in their relationship. As long as she was really committed to _being_ with him, through everything, little else mattered. It would be smooth sailing from here.

Of course, as Temperance could have easily told him, could she have read his mind…when have things ever been that easy?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi boys and girls!!! (Are there any boys reading this? B/c that would thrill me to death if there were). A little Sunday smut for you. I was so pleased by the response to this sequel, and so happy that people are still interested in the story. **_**Love **_**the speculation about Brennan's condition (or lack thereof)—makes me feel like folks are really interested;-) Although I do feel, as a devout Brennanite, I should be reminding folks not to jump to conclusions…heehee. Ya just never know.**

**You know what to do…read, review, let me know what you want and I'll see what I can do for you!**

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"You're going to be married before I am, aren't you?" Angela's voice was plaintive and vaguely accusatory.

"No, Ange. I'm not getting married. _You're _getting married. See?" She grabbed her friend's hand over the diner's table and pointed at the large diamond there. "Besides, you know my feelings about that whole thing."

"But you've been changing your mind about lots of other things lately. Look at you, about to set up house with Booth. Right now, it's moving in together. Soon, I'm going to be helping you go minivan shopping and covering for you at work while the two of you go to PTA meetings." Her chin dropped to her hand, and she looked defeated. Brennan looked horrified.

"Angela, please tell me you know better."

After a second of thought, her friend sighed. "Yes, I know. Sorry. This whole thing with hunting down my MIA Fijian hubby has kind of been messing with me. I just want it over so that I can get back to my life."

"Understood. But please, don't talk about me and minivans in the same sentence again. Seriously, it's making my stomach feel weird."

Angela looked at her sympathetically. "Yeah, you're looking kind of stressed, Sweetie. What's up?"

Brennan thought about it for a moment. "I guess it's just been difficult reconciling this relationship with everything else I know to be true about myself. I know that I want to live with Booth. I love Parker, and how he's become a part of my life. And Booth's family is great. But all the responsibilities that come with all this…it's foreign to me. For example, I had intended on using this weekend to get caught up with some work I've gotten behind in. Now, out of the blue, we're supposed to go celebrate Booth's brother's promotion. If I don't go, I'm disappointing all these people."

"It's tough having so many people relying on you, huh?"

She felt suddenly a little embarrassed and guilty. Her friend was unable to marry the man she loved because of something that happened years ago, and her life had recently been consumed with trying to remedy this situation. Now, here Brennan was complaining about getting this nice new house and having people who cared about her. "It's really nothing," she murmured, taking another bite of her pie now that the temporary distaste had passed.

Angela smiled reassuringly. "Sure it is. It's called "eustress." Means, good stress. Even when awesome things are happening in your life, they can cause as much anxiety as the bad stuff, just in a different way."

"Really? Huh." She considered that. "Makes sense. Certainly explains my tension over the past few days. And all this emotional eating." She pushed her pie away and towards Angela. "Please, take this away from me. My shirts are all starting not to fit."

"Let me get this straight. You gain weight first _in your chest?" _Brennan nodded. "I hate you." She grinned at her friend. "Well, Booth must love it, though. He strikes me as a boob guy."

Brennan gave Angela a scolding look, but didn't deny it, and the artist looked at her knowingly before pulling her keys out of her handbag. "I'll tell you what, Sweetie. You might be the only person in this universe who has things hotter than I do. Here's some advice for you: relax. Know that you are still doing amazing work in the lab and out in the field, even if you have other important things in your life right now. Don't worry so much about the future, because as recent events have shown, it always works out the way it's supposed to." Ange gave her a reassuring smile as she stood, then leaned over the table. "And perhaps most importantly: go take out all that stress and frustration on your man's luscious bod, and then get a good night's sleep. It'll cure what ails you."

Brennan smirked at her. "Contrary to popular opinion, sex is _not _the solution to everything."

"Maybe not. But _almost _everything. And it's worth a try." She gave her friend a brief hug. "See you tomorrow Sweetie. Don't forget…sex and sleep."

"Sex and sleep," she agreed. But after Angela walked out the door, Brennan again gave into the part of her that told her pie was the solution.

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"Hey, gorgeous." He grinned at her. It was a little late for him to come over, but they tended to sleep better when they were together.

She was in her robe, and her hair was still damp from her Monday-night swim. The evenings were getting cooler, and it wouldn't be much longer until she'd after discontinue this tradition. Unless Booth tried to convince her to get an indoor pool for their new house. She silently reminded herself to be strong against his powers of persuasion from now on. "Hey." She smiled briefly before giving him a kiss.

"You feeling better today?"

"Yes," she lied, wandering into the kitchen to get them drinks. "I had dinner with Angela. She told me to stop stressing out so much."

"Angela's a smart woman." He popped the top off of his beer. "So I was thinking…maybe we should take a few days off next week to move into our new place."

She had flopped onto the couch beside him and was unscrewing her water bottle, but she stopped in mid-spin, eyes nearly popping out of her head. "Take off work? I don't think so, Booth. That's what the weekends are for. "

"But we're going to be away this weekend again."

Ignoring for the moment that she had never agreed to go away this weekend, she countered, "Then we can move the weekend after."

"We'll have Parker that weekend…I want to have things set up for him."

"Then the next weekend. What's the hurry?" she asked, a little desperately.

He smiled at her, took her hand. "The hurry is that I'm ready for this. I waited a long time for you. I don't want to spend another week being in different places."

Anxiety knotted in her stomach again, and she abruptly stood up, her hand falling from his. "I'm not going to marry you," she blurted out. Even she seemed surprised that those words came out.

His eyebrows raised. "Ooookay…" Her eyes flickered to his and then dropped, unable to keep his inquisitive gaze. "Well…I suppose that's not the first time I heard that line. Although, the last time I heard it was after I already asked, so it made a little more sense." She looked at the floor, ashamed at herself, but not knowing what else to say. "You wanna tell me where that came from, Bones?"

She tried to find an answer for him. "I…I…" Finally, she gave up. "I don't know." She sighed and sat back down next to him. "I guess I'm just apprehensive about this moving thing."

"Are you freaking out?" he asked, looking concerned.

"Just a little," she admitted.

"Bones, Bones, Bones." He took her by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm being a little pushy, huh?"

Trying to relax into him, she thought about it. "No…you've been great, Booth. I've never felt through this whole thing that you were disregarding my feelings, or coercing me…I've always known that if whatever we were deciding wasn't acceptable to me, that I could say no, and you'd respect that. I think…there's just a part of me that hasn't caught up to my new reality yet. The part that still freezes up when I feel my sense of independence being threatened."

"The part that thinks being married to me would be a fate worse than death?"

She gave him a look. "That's not what I think. I just don't believe in it. So…just don't think that making me come four times in one night is going to change my mind, that's all."

If he had been hurt by her outburst, he pushed it aside now. "Sounds like a challenge, to me." His hand slipped to the knot on her robe, played with it. Traced the edges where it met her skin with his fingertips. She sighed.

"I wish. But we should probably sleep at some point tonight, considering we have to work tomorrow." Despite her words, she wiggled slightly, causing her robe to fall open a bit. He took advantage of the increased access.

"Okay…maybe not time for four. Three?" He pushed the robe from her shoulder, kissing the silky skin there. "Tell me you're naked underneath there."

"Maybe. Three's pushing it."

"Two, then?" His lips moved lazily across her shoulder and up her neck.

"How fast can you work?"

"Pretty damn fast, when I have to."

"Really?" She tried to say it innocently enough that he wouldn't know what was going to happen next. "Well, I suppose…me too." With that, she pushed him, hard enough that he thumped back against the couch with surprise. She swiftly straddled him with one hand on his chest, holding him in place. He chuckled deep in his throat. He already knew just how fast she could work. It had taken mere moments for her to capture his previously-unwilling heart.

She remembered what Angela had told her earlier that day—_"it'll cure what ails you," _she had said. Right now she wasn't completely sure that sex would heal her misgivings…if that were true, every one of her doubts would have been dispensed of long ago, and many times over…but it sure was effective in making her feel loved and safe in that moment. Slowly, she made a show of shaking her robe off of her shoulders and down her back. The least she could do with her currently fuller figure was tempt her lover with it. Watching his eyes as the material fell, she knew that she certainly had accomplished this mission. He looked like a starving man who was about to devour the first piece of sustenance he came across.

"I swear to God, Temperance Brennan, your body gets hotter every day," he swore, and she smiled.

"You like what you see?" she asked, leaning forward to let her breasts sway tantalizingly in front of his face while she unbuttoned his shirt, and he stared as if hypnotized. Not content to only look, he grasped her shoulders suddenly and pulled her towards him, sucking one of her nipples into his mouth and letting his tongue dance over it. "Seeley," she gasped, her fingers instinctively going to the back of his head and gripping him there. His tongue was causing ripples of sensation to tingle through her nipples and radiate through her breasts. Their lower bodies were clothed, but somehow right now she couldn't bear to pull herself away from his wonderful mouth, and she rocked against him while keeping her chest near his lips. Her movements grew more frantic and he seemed vaguely surprised by how much this simple foreplay was arousing her. "Don't…stop…" she gasped, and he upped the suction of his mouth on her, while rearranging her hips so she was riding the ridge of his erection in his jeans. Her movements became furious, and he grabbed at her hips both to keep her in place and to increase the pressure of her against him. He sucked hard one more time, and gently scraped his teeth against her sensitive nipple, and that did it. Her lower body spasmed and she pressed into him hard, the sweet throbbing rolling through her center and then through the rest of her body. He soothed her with his tongue as she shuddered, and then let out one last shaky sigh.

He let her breast fall from his lips. "One," he whispered, pushing back her damp hair.

"You cocky bastard," she said breathlessly, but she was laughing a little. She was surprised as well that she had come so fast, with such minimal stimulation, but she wasn't going to complain about it. She wiggled her hips a little, enjoying the fact that this little escapade had caused him to swell to almost epic proportions underneath her. "I guess we've got to get you caught up then, hmm?" Easing her way down his body on the couch, she felt gratified by his long groan of anticipation.

Breathing heavily, he studied her as she made her way down to his belt buckle and began undressing him intently. She truly was the most amazing, unique woman he had ever been with in his life, and he never tired of bringing her pleasure, and watching her bring _him _pleasure. A wave of contentment washed over him, followed quickly by a disturbing sense of unease: _"I'm not going to marry you," _she had said. He tried to shake it off. He had never expected her to, right? This house they were buying was symbolic of their togetherness, their commitment to one another. It should be enough. He wanted it to be enough.

Luckily, he was distracted from his ruminations by her hands on his bare flesh, squeezing his ass as she pushed his pants down and then circling around to brush against his swollen member. That was always enough to clear his mind, at least temporarily. She played with him lazily at first, teasing him, letting his eagerness build. By the time her tongue touched him, he was more than ready for her, and it took restraint not to just grab her head and thrust away into her luscious, inviting mouth. "I want you," he told her, his voice straining.

"Oh yeah? Which part of me? This one…" her head dropped and she licked him thoroughly, wetting him, making him moan. She lifted her head. "Or, this one…" Raising up slightly, she positioned his hardness between her full breasts, then pressing, enclosing him between them. Still wet from her mouth, he slid easily against her.

"Holy fuck, Temperance. That's the hottest thing…" his voice lost his power when she squeezed harder and moved herself, encouraging his thrusts and upping the slick friction of him between her breasts. He was incoherent now, lost in a world of her body, all worries gone. All worries gone, until he realized that if she kept this up, their fun was going to be over very, very soon. "Bones…you've got to…stop," he gasped, while she expertly took him to the edge and back, knowing exactly when to release the pressure to keep him from exploding right then and there. Finally, she released him.

"Okay, I'll stop. But _only _because the thought of not getting you inside me tonight makes me want to scream." She worked her way back up his body until her excited sex pressed against his, bare this time. Rubbing against him, she moaned.

"Oh, you'll scream baby. I'll make sure of it." Before she was able to sink down on him, he flipped her over onto her back, and she gasped. Giving himself time to recover from her ministrations, he kissed her body up and down until she was squirming, begging. The second he felt in control of himself again, he pulled her flush against him, ran his fingers across her wetness, and thrust into her.

"Oh, thank _God," _she moaned, and he gave a throaty chuckle at this. He kept his momentum smooth and slow, but she was pulling at his ass with her feet, running her nails down his back. If it wasn't obvious by this that she wanted more, it became quite apparent when she began cursing at him, hotly: "Fuck me fuck me fuck me…" again and again. He had to grasp at the armrest of the couch to oblige her, pulling hard. Yes, for their new place, they'd have to get a nice, big couch---sturdy…

The thought flew from his mind when her words turned to the high-pitched whimpers that made his balls tighten again, and he moaned into her ear how hot she was, how crazy she made him. She came again while he drilled into her, and she begged him to follow her. He did, jetting into her hard, all his senses collapsing into one intense experience.

After a few minutes, he reached down beside them and covered their still-trembling bodies with the robe she had tossed on the floor. "Two," he whispered.

Her eyes were closed as she snuggled into him. "So good," she murmured, apparently forgetting for the moment about his being a cocky bastard. She hovered between sleep and wakefulness while he gently stroked her hair and kissed her forehead.

It _was _good—incredibly so, he thought, resting his eyes as well. Yet, her words repeated in his head: _"I'm not going to marry you." _Spoken resolutely, almost challengingly. He knew it had nothing to do with him…that was just Bones, through and through. He wanted to be okay with it. But God, he wanted so much from her, with her. Disturbed by the direction his thoughts were taking, he tried to focus on the next step they were taking—this house. Maybe he could trade weekends with Rebecca so that they could move next weekend and not have to take any time off work. He simply couldn't wait to have this thing to call their own. Easing off of her, he lifted her and carried to her bed, laid her under the covers and pulled the sheet over her.

"Thanks," she murmured, rolling to her side and nestling into the pillow.

"No problem," he whispered, kissing her temple. He made towards the bathroom to get ready for bed himself, then paused and came back to her side. "Love you forever, 'kay?" It was what he told Parker at night while he tucked him in; he wasn't sure what possessed him to say it now, to Bones, especially since she was pretty close to unconscious and it was unlikely to register. Indeed, her breathing just became softer, more rhythmic—she was asleep. Pushing her hair back, he sighed and left her side. _"Soon, Seeley," _he told himself, not even entirely sure what he was reassuring himself about.

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She awoke first, early. She felt…Angela would call it "icky." Shifting uncomfortably, she finally abandoned sleep and got up, shuffling to the bathroom. She felt achy and bloated. What the hell was wrong with her...sex and sleep was supposed to cure her, Angela had promised. The little liar. Hopefully she wasn't getting sick.

Then it occurred to her…it was probably time to get her period, and the stress she was currently experiencing was exacerbating the typical symptoms. She almost laughed in relief…of course. That explained a lot. She really should be better about monitoring her biological functioning. The last time she had her period was in the middle of August, shortly after she and Booth had come back from their island getaway. Smiling at that memory of that trip, she reached for the ibuprophen in the medicine cabinet.

Almost to the bottle, her hand suddenly froze. The middle of August? That was 6 weeks ago.

She was showered, dressed, and out the door before Booth even had a chance to wake.

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**A/N: Dun Dun **_**DUUUUN. **_**More excitement and drama to come soon. But first, probably, the next episode of Scenes from a Hat!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: …And the smangstmance continues. Thanks so very much for all your thoughts and opinions about the story and where you want it to go. I so wish I could give you all exactly what you want but…can't please everyone, as I've learned long ago;-) I can promise, though, that there will be lots more, hopefully enough to please the most hardcore fluff, angst, and smut, and drama lovers! Pretty please keep the dialogue going with me…you know it makes me tick. And write!**

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The couch in the Jeffersonian's women's restroom always bothered Brennan. It was a perfectly nice couch, but it annoyed the hell out of her that someone had decided that the women in the building needed a "fainting couch," while the men didn't—the men's room was devoid of any place to rest, other than the obvious. The men here were just as likely (or unlikely) to faint as any of the women. But somehow, the gender stereotype kept this particular piece of furniture firmly anchored in the ladies room. This was the first time she had sat on it in her tenure here, her curled up on one end, and Angela on the other, facing each other. Between them there was a plastic bag.

After a long period of silence, Angela finally spoke. "Should we…you know…give it a try?"

"Yes," Brennan agreed. But she didn't move from her spot on the couch.

Angela paused again, unsure of how to proceed. "Are you sure you don't want to call Booth? He might be able to help…"

"No!" she exclaimed emphatically. Her friend's eyes widened.

"Okay, okay, Sweetie. Just saying, he'd probably be glad to know what's up, since you just left this morning…"

"I left a note," Brennan interjected quickly. "Told him I had to come in early."

Angela sighed. Obviously, her friend was missing the point. "You know, you're going to have to talk to him about this eventually."

"You don't know that. This…this could be lots of things. I've been experiencing a lot of stress lately, and that could easily affect the hormone levels in my body and make me late. As well as alter my appetite and my energy level. It could be nothing."

"No matter what it is, it's not _nothing, _Sweetie. I've never seen you like this before…it's pure panic. That means something. Something that you're going to have to deal with eventually. And talk about with Booth."

Was that what this was? Panic? Ever since she had gotten here today, she had barely been able to focus on her work, which _never _happened, no matter how anxious she had been in the past. Angela had seen right through her and had dragged her into her office, demanding to know what was happening. Then, come lunchtime, she dragged her to a drugstore.

She wished she could tell Angela what she was feeling—hell, she wished she _knew _what she was feeling. She loved Booth _so much, _and lately had been putting him first in her life in so many ways. But right now, all she could think about was preserving her own life; preserving _herself. _

Now more anxious to get out of this conversation than anything, she reached for the bag between them, pulled out the boxes inside. "I guess I should do this, huh?" She stood. Angela reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Brennan…what will you do? If they are positive?"

Her eyes were flat. "I'll get an abortion," she said, voice devoid of emotion.

Angela's eyes weren't judging, but they did seem surprised and a little sad at her quick answer. "Really?"

"Why would that surprise you, Ange? You know I don't want kids."

"But Parker…"

Brennan closed her eyes and shook her head. "Parker's here, and he's reality. I've accepted him and I love him. But this is something that I have control over from the very beginning. I can't have a baby. Dont want to."

Angela was silent.

Feeling guilt wash over her, then anger at that guilt, Brennan's eyes opened. "What?" she snapped.

"Sweetie, nothing." She held her hands up, in defense. "You know I'd support anything you do. If you feel reluctance coming from me, it's not coming from, like, a bomb-the-women's-clinic place. It's coming from an I-think-my-friends-would-be-amazing-parents place. And, a the-world-needs-that-kind-of-gene-pool place.

Her anger melted a little bit. "This is all just happening too fast," she whispered.

Angela hugged her, quickly, then pushed her towards one of the stalls. "Go. We don't even know if we need to be having this conversation right now." This time, Brennan obeyed, gathering the boxes and carrying them into the stall with her.

"Don't leave, 'kay?" She was disgusted at how needy she sounded.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Taking a deep breath, she opened the boxes, resigned to facing the truth.

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The day had been positively exhausting, and she collapsed on the couch as soon as she came home, falling into a fitful sleep that gave her little relief. She had thought the knock was part of whatever surreal dream she was having at the moment, but after it became more insistent, she realized it was coming from her very own front door. Rubbing her eyes, she stood to go get it.

As soon as she opened the door, her visitor grabbed her, slammed the door shut behind her, and pressed her against it. _Now _she was awake. "Have you been avoiding me?" Booth whispered, smiling sexily before pressing a demanding kiss on her lips.

"No, I…" It came to her quickly that he was kidding; at least, it didn't seem like he required an answer. If he did, he would have let her have the use of her lips; as it was, he claimed them for his own. "Booth," she gasped, pulling away slightly.

"Huh-uh. This is what you get for not even letting me kiss you goodbye this morning." He kept her pressed firmly against the door with his chest, while his hands ran over her body.

She had truly believed there was no possible way she could get turned on this evening, but as lust from this treatment seeped into her exhausted mind, she gave herself over to the distraction eagerly. When he was touching her like this, she could barely hold a logical thought in her head. She felt his fingers run around the elastic band of her stretch pants before unceremoniously plunging inside of them. She was glad that he was dispensing with the niceties; she wasn't entirely sure she could handle romance tonight.

Her ass was in hands and he squeezed firmly, grunting his appreciation of her lack of panties. "It upsets me to go all day without hearing your sexy voice. Makes me want to coax it out of you by any means necessary." He punctuated this by circling one hand to the front of her and lightly, lazily dragging his fingers up and over her sex, teasing her with a barely-there touch. She jerked against him, which drew a smile from him until he saw the deadly-serious look on her face.

"Make me come," she rasped, and he swallowed hard, his smile disappearing. Trying to get back some semblance of control, he brushed a thumb over her tender clit, causing her knees to buckle a little and a gasp to leave her lips. Feeling her reaction, his confidence returned full force.

"You're gonna come so hard, that brilliant brain of yours is gonna short circuit." He brushed his finger over her again, harder this time, and smoothly slid it inside of her, making her shudder. Probing a bit, he found the sweet spot that only he had ever been pinpoint so easily, and with such an effect. She bit back a scream.

He smiled against her lips. "You're not going to hold back on me here, are you? I've been thinking about touching you like this all day. Was going to take care of it this morning, but…somebody ran off too fast." He pressed the heel of his hand against her clit while another finger was added to this intimate torture, slowly fucking her with his hand while his mouth sucked voraciously at her throat.

Whimpering while she pressed against him, losing herself in the delicious tension that his fingers were creating against her, she focused only on that feeling. The day hadn't even happened. There were no major life choices to be thought about. There was no thought of how people in her hallway might be able to hear the steady thump of her hips against the door, the unmistakable sounds of a woman being pleasured. Her world shrunk to the center of her body and his hand, caressing her.

He increased his speed, and the pressure inside of her with his fingers. "Just…like…that…" she moaned, bucking against his hand, grasping at the doorknob for support with one hand while the other held onto his hair. Higher…higher…fuck, she needed this without even knowing it, needed him to make her forget. With one last groan of relief, her head fell back against the door. "Yeeeeesssss…."

Triumph flew through his body at the feeling of her trembling around his fingers. This was one of his favorite parts. Ah, hell, they were _all _his favorite parts. Continuing to massage her gently, he encouraged the orgasm to linger while she mumbled her satisfaction. Finally, her head dropped to his shoulder, and he kissed the damp hair at her temple. "I hope you learned your lesson," he whispered.

She pulled back. "Not yet." Cupping the bulge in his pants, she regarded him seriously. "Come on."

He followed her to the bedroom then, where she proceeded to make love to him insatiably, thoroughly. Although taken aback by her desperate enthusiasm, he didn't complain, not even once.

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Hours later, Brennan was sprawled across the bed in a deep, dreamless sleep. Booth listened to the rhythmic sound of her breathing, feeling completely self-satisfied with her exhaustion. He had been a little worried when she left this morning without saying goodbye, and didn't return his message when he called. Figuring it was leftover anxiety about their move, he had made it his goal to relax her. And he believed he had accomplished that. Twice.

Yawning, he got up to prepare for sleep, along the way picking up discarded items of clothing to consolidate into one pile, knowing the mess would upset Temperance when she woke up in the morning. She tended to have different priorities once brain wasn't fogged with lust, he thought amusedly. He was about the throw the armful into the hamper, but when he opened the lid caught sight of a piece of paper peeking out of the pocket of a pair of Brennan's pants. Smiling ruefully, he pulled it out. It was a common oversight of hers, not taking things out of her pockets before she sent them through the wash. One time, it was a tube of lipstick, and he still liked to tease her about the rosy mess that awaited her when she opened the washer door.

He glanced at the offending piece of paper; a drugstore receipt. He should probably save it for her. Making to set it aside on the dresser, a word caught his eye.

FirstResponse Preg.

It was listed three times, at $12.99 each.

His heart began to pound, and he stared at that slip of paper for at least a full minute. He looked over at the sleeping woman in the bed, back to the paper. When his legs finally worked again, he was beside her in a flash.

"Bones." He touched her shoulder.

"Hmph." She didn't want to wake up.

"What is this?"

"Huh." Her eyes refused to open.

"This receipt."

"What receipt," she mumbled, burying her head into the pillow.

"Temperance." He shook her a little harder. "Are you _pregnant?"_

Her eyes flew open at the question, and she was momentarily speechless. She glanced at the receipt in his hand. She must have left it in her pocket. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

His face was full of hope. "Are we going to have a baby?" he whispered, and the awe in his eyes very nearly made her stomach turn.

"Booth…"

"Baby." He enfolded her in his arms. "That would be so amazing. So great…" He wasn't feeling her squirming in his arms.

"Booth…" she said more urgently.

"I can't tell you how much I want that with you, baby. I know it isn't what you planned, but it could be so good. We could really be a family…you and me and Parker and oh my God, a _baby…"_

"_Booth." _Forcefully, this time, which finally caused his mouth to snap shut and him to look at her. She spoke slowly.

"It was a false alarm. I thought I might be…you know…but I'm not. I've been stressed lately, and apparently it's messed with my cycles. That's happened before, just not to this extent. But I'm not…" Her voice trailed off, and she looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

His face fell. "Oh." He sat for a moment, processing, trying to change his train of thought. "Well…that's okay," he said, smiling at her, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I suppose the timing could be better, anyway."

Instead of looking more secure, an irritated look crossed her face. "No, Booth. No better timing. You know that I don't want kids. You _know _that. And even if I _had _been pregnant…"

He said nothing, but looked horrified at whatever was going to come out of her mouth next.

She sat up fully, taking his silence as affirmation of what she had so worried about. "You've been hoping I would change my mind. _Expecting _me too." Agitated now, she climbed out from under the covers. "That's what this whole thing has been, hasn't it? Starting with the let's go on vacation. Then the let's move in together, and the let's get a house. In a few months, it would have been…" She stopped. "And I've been going along with it. You've been trying to change me, and I've been letting you."

This conversation was _not _going well. He bristled at her accusation. "I have _not _tried to change you, Temperance."

"Booth. You are talking about having babies. I don't _want _to have babies. I think that's trying to change me. You want this stereotypical, cookie-cutter life, and I'm not going to give that to you, so forget about that." Her arms crossed, and her eyes flared.

It stoked his own anger. "I can't _believe _you're angry about me wanting to have been supportive of you if you were pregnant."

"You would only have been supportive if I decided to have and keep the baby."

"_Bones. _Don't even talk like that!" He got up and began pacing before coming to rest in front of her. "Were you even planning on telling me you thought you might be pregnant? Were you going to tell me if you _were?"_

She opened her mouth to answer him, before realizing she didn't know. She looked down.

"You weren't," he whispered, shocked.

"I didn't say that."

"This is unbelievable, Bones."

If it were possible, she felt more confused now than she did early today, as she sat on the fainting couch with Angela. A mixture of anger, fear, wanting, and needing flowed through her. "You told me that we could handle being together and being so different. But you've been so focused on the white-picket fence lately. And it's _freaking me the hell out."_

If emotions wouldn't have been so high right now, he would have laughed at the use of the expression.

Her voice became softer now, whispered. "Why, Booth? Why do you need that so badly? That picture-perfect life? You told me that I was enough, but I'm having trouble believing you right now."

Now he was the one who didn't know what to say. He had always wanted the white-picket fence. But he would gladly take Temperance over a wedding or a house, or even more kids…he had been honest when he said that she and Parker were enough for him to be happy. But somehow, the thought of not having the American dream right now killed him, and he didn't know why.

"I'm not sure we should live together, Booth," she said quietly, blinking back tears.

"Don't start that, Temperance. We can get through this."

"But we just don't want the same things."

"Yes, we do. We want each other. That's what's important."

"That's over-idealistic."

He sat back down next to her on the bed, took her hand. "Look. I agree there're obviously a few things we need to think about and figure out. But us being together is _not _one of them."

She looked downwards.

Cupping her face, he made her look him in the eye. "I'm gonna go, okay? Try to process a few things. But I don't want to have to worry that when I come back you're going to kick me to the curb. Promise me you won't make any rash decisions."

"I don't make rash decisions."

"True." He took her hand. "Are you angry with me?"

"I don't know. Are you, with me?"

"I don't know either." Squeezing her hand, he forced a small smile. "I know I love you, though."

She nodded. "I love you too."

"Good. Until later, then."

She watched him go, feeling adrift. It would be so much easier to be true to herself if she was entirely sure of who that was right now.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Oh, it's getting so hard to update as frequently as I want! Not to mention dialoguing with my reviewers as much as I want...man I miss you guys. Thanks so much for your support—knowing that so many people care about it makes me keep this story on my priority list, even while the good old schedule becomes busier and busier.**

**The first part of this is a little deep, I think. Hopefully there are some folks out there who like psychology as much as me. Or at least can tolerate it for a little while;-) Hope you enjoy…keep talking to me, 'kay?**

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It had been a long day at work, and he needed a drink and the opportunity to recharge before going home to the love of his life. She was a feisty one, his girlfriend, and although he wouldn't change that for the world, being with her required _energy. _When he saw her again, he'd make sure that he was ready to match her liveliness and exuberance with his very own.

He was distracted from his goal, however, when he saw a familiar face in the window of the diner. That face did _not _look happy. He considered for a moment just passing by, knowing that his concern wasn't always appreciated and he'd likely get shot down for his efforts. A second glance showed him what bad shape his friend was actually in, and he sighed deeply as he pushed open the door of the diner. He had to at least _try._

"Dude. The last time I looked like that, Zack had smushed my favorite Madagascar hissing cockroach racer. And he swore it was an accident, but I always got the feeling it was because he was resentful of my roach-training skills." He pulled up a stool next his friend Seeley Booth, anticipating the wary look he indeed received.

"Yeah. That's exactly what happened to me, Hodgins. Ruined my whole day."

"I figured it must have been something at least that bad."

Booth sipped at his coffee. "You didn't come in here to talk about my feelings, did you?" He said _feelings _like it was a dirty word.

"No, man. I came in here to get a sandwich. You're the one being all girly and bringing up feelings."

Despite himself, Booth felt a twinge of amusement go through him. Jack ordered from the bar and got himself a cup of coffee, as well. They sat silently for awhile, drinking.

"Bones tell you that we're going to PA this weekend to see my family? Well, at least I am." His words came out of nowhere, and Jack glanced over at him vaguely surprised.

"Yeah, I think I heard her mention something about it to Angela." He wasn't sure if this was going anywhere, so he stopped, waiting to see what came next.

Booth nodded, and was quiet for another second before speaking again. "We're celebrating. My brother got a promotion. And, apparently, he has a new girlfriend too, my mom tells me, wants us all to meet her."

"That's…good?" Jack searched his friend's face, and found that he couldn't tell if that was the right answer.

"Yeah. It's great." Booth's lips tightened for a second, then relaxed. "Jared was always focused on his career, so he deserves this. Now that he's finally almost at the top, I guess he decided he can settle down a little bit. This is the first woman he's brought home in a long time. Must really like her."

Jack nodded.

"So, this is part of the series of "Jared parties" that we've been having. So far, they've mostly been celebrating his career achievements. But I can see the future episodes already. It's gonna be the "Jared's engaged" party, then the Jared wedding party, then the "Jared gives Mom and  
Dad their first in-wedlock grandchild" party. Probably right before the "Jared becomes president of the whole damn U.S.A." party."

"Um…maybe I'm reading too much into this, man…but I'm sensing a little resentment here." Booth didn't answer him. Wow, both of them were _really _bad at this. What was he supposed to do now? Suddenly, he looked at Booth suspiciously. "Did Dr. Brennan back out of the living-in-sin plan?" He couldn't imagine anything else that would put his friend in such a morose mood. Or make him talk such jibberish.

"Not with words," he said flatly.

"With body language, then? Sign language? Did she spell it out with pieces of bone? What?"

"She thought she was pregnant." Jack's mouth fell open. "She wasn't. But apparently, she wasn't going to tell me." He looked over at his speechless friend. "I know. I guess the thought of having a child with me just sent her into panic mode. Decided to just act like it wasn't even happening." He was feeling angry again, talking about this, and it was showing on his face.

Jack spoke slowly. "I get that this is a blow. But…I wouldn't take it so personally. Brennan's just…it's not having a child with _you _that would make her freak out. She learned a long time ago that if she didn't take care of herself, no one else would do it for her. The thought of being responsible for another life might just be too much for her right now. It's enough of a change for her to devote some of herself to _you, _let alone…"

"How could I not take it personally?" Booth interrupted and looked stupefied at the suggestion. "She was considering not including me in a decision about _my child."_

"I know. That's rough." Jack struggled to be soothing. "All I'm saying is that if she felt pressure to give up her life for someone or something else, I could really see her shutting down. I'm not saying it's right not to talk to you about it; just that it's an understandable move for her. Brennan's not a woman who you push to go in a desired direction. You wait for it to come to her. And come to _you."_

Through his confusion, Booth tried his best to comprehend this. "You think I've been pushing?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know what you've been doing. But it's very, very clear what you want. You've got an edge of desperation there, man. What's up with that?"

Booth didn't know, so he stayed silent. Right now, he was with Bones on one front; he _hated _psychology at this moment.

"You know, if you really need someone to be something even _close _to homemaker-of-the-year, you better be honest with yourself about that real fast dude. 'Cause that's not our Dr. Brennan."

"You think I don't know that?" Booth snapped, and Jack shut up fast. Wrong thing to say. "Bones and me…Parker…it's been great. Everything, really." A long sigh left him. "Whether or not it's something to throw a party about."

There was an almost-audible click in Hodgin's brain, and suddenly at least some of the jigsaw pieces fit together. "Just so you know, man…what you have with Brennan…it's not _less. _It's not less than anything that your brother is doing or is going to do. You don't have to prove anything to anybody. Just be happy. That's what it's all about.

Booth opened his mouth to tell him that he _knew_ all of this—that married with children wasn't the only right way to be. Then, he had a realization. Just because he knew that, didn't mean he wasn't buying into that way of thinking. He remembered telling Temperance, what seemed like a long, long time ago, that he could usually convince himself he was a good man, when he thought about the life he had lead. A good man by his own standards. Suddenly, it became clearer to him how the standards of others were getting in the way of completely believing and accepting this. Whatever he had been about to say fell from his mind at this epiphany. Instead, he said, "Yeah…happy is good. Thanks."

His friend looked incredibly relieved to have not had his head snapped off. "Anytime." He leaned back in his stool. "Just for the record…you and Brennan…you should talk this out and get back to good, pronto. Because you'd be idiots not to. Let's face it—neither of you is gonna do any better."

Booth grinned at him, grateful for the levity. "Can't do better when you're the best."

"I'm overwhelmed by your modesty." Having finished his sandwich and drink, Jack stood and clapped his hand on Booth's shoulder. "Good luck. And by the way…the next time I need therapy, you're getting a call. And you better not complain."

"Can't make any promises, man. But I'll buy you a beer."

"Deal." With a last smile, Jack left his friend to sort things out, shaking his head ruefully. Apparently, he _wasn't _dating the most stubborn person on Earth, after all.

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He got home late. He had thought about going over to Brennan's place, but no matter how long he sat in the diner he couldn't think of how to start that particular conversation, so he decided to go back to his apartment and sleep on it. Or at the very least, lay in his bed and think on it. Okay, lay in his bed and think about Temperance, and how much he missed her already, and what she had felt like against him last night before all hell had broken loose and it seemed as if his heart had been filled up and burst all in the span of a split second. Damn it, she made him feel _so much._

When he unlocked the door of his apartment, he was immediately put on alert when he saw the glow of a light coming from his living room. He _never _left his lights on when he was away from home. Stalking into the room, he peered about cautiously, his eye out for an intruder. It didn't take long to find her—curled up with a blanket wrapped around her on the rocking chair in the corner, obviously having fallen asleep while waiting for him. He had that rocking chair since Parker was a baby. Smiling, a little tiredly himself, he eased himself onto the couch and watched her sleep for awhile. His Temperance…his Bones. He briefly imagined how it would feel to leave her, in hopes of finding another woman, one with family intentions. One who would be pleased with his desire to settle down. Despite how attractive that had once seemed, he felt a tightness in his throat at the thought of giving up what he had right now, with _this _woman. As frustrating as she could be sometimes.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice when her eyes fluttered open, and she regarded him with an unreadable look on her face. When he finally caught her eyes, he smiled weakly. "Welcome to the world of the living."

"Hey," she replied, her voice a little husky with sleep. She yawned and stretched a little bit. "I'm glad you came back."

"You could have called and let me know you were here." She nodded, agreeing, but didn't offer an explanation of why she didn't. "Why did you come?"

"Because we're supposed to go to PA tomorrow for your brother's party."

She remembered. He felt a surge of hope, then of guilt. He stood, walked over to her; kneeled in front of her, but didn't touch her. She looked him curiously. "Temperance. I've been pushy lately. And not in a good way. Haven't I." It wasn't a question. Biting her lip, she nodded a little. He sighed. "I'm sorry."

Adjusting herself, she shrugged. It may have been meant to look nonchalant, but her face now reflected a struggle. Her voice was low. "I don't want you to resent me in a few years because we pretended we could resolve this, and we couldn't."

He was thoughtful when he replied. "I think the only things we need to resolve are inside ourselves. I don't have a good reason for being pushy. You and Parker…you're my everything. There's something external to me trying to convince me that I should need, _require _something else, but that's not _my _belief, and I'll try to remember that. Because it kills me that you felt the need to keep something so important from me, that you couldn't trust me. And I die again thinking that something like that would cause me to lose you."

She studied him carefully, as if trying to judge the sincerity of his words. She knew he wouldn't lie to her just to tell her something she wanted to hear. But he might lie to himself, to avoid the pain of having to end this relationship. "Booth…just so you know…I understand at least part of the reason why you were upset. You were right…I should have told you what was happening, because you have the right to know that. I'm just…so used to dealing with things on my own. It felt safer that way. And that's _my _issue to be resolved." She sighed. "I've never been in this position before…feeling like any decision I make might be a disappointment to someone. I don't want to disappoint you…but I can't be someone I'm not."

"It's a good thing I love the person you are, then, huh?"

Despite herself, she smiled.

"I just want us to be happy, Temperance. I'll try to stay open to all the paths that might get us there, okay? And not focus so much on just one."

She thought about this. "Fair enough."

"And do you promise to let me know if you're freaking out? So I don't have to worry that you might close down and hide from me?"

She nodded. "Just so you know…I never freaked out before I met you."

He grinned. "I guess I have that effect on women." His smile faded as he appeared to be considering something. "But Bones? On one more serious note…we have to be really, really careful from now on, okay? Because if what almost happened actually happened…it would kill me. Not because I need babies, or even because of my religion. Just because…anything we create together is so incredibly precious to me. I just can't ever imagine giving it up." His eyes were pleading for her understanding. "Okay?"

The pain in his eyes at the thought was apparent, and it hurt her heart. "Okay," she whispered. They might have to talk about this again later…about how incredibly hard it was to even contemplate the notion of giving up a child that she and Booth had made together, whether or not she wanted to be a mother, whether or not she was usually a cool, rational person who made logical decisions based on facts and evidence. There was no possible way she could have maintained her coolness in this situation. There were no facts that could have soothed her broken heart. They had been given a second chance, and she would do everything she could to learn from that first one. Right now, though…she wasn't sure she could handle anymore sadness. She had experienced a moment of wondering if she'd ever feel him in her arms again, and now all she wanted was comfort. Instead of waiting for him to provide it, she rocked forward, wrapping her arms around him as he kneeled in front of her. She rested her head on his shoulder and he murmured his contentment at the contact. "I'm sorry," she said softly against his ear, and he held her tighter.

"Me too, baby."

After a moment, she pulled back a little. "I suppose we should talk about…you know…everything else? This weekend, and the house, and…"

"Yeah, we should. Later, okay? Let's enjoy this for a little while."

Gratefully, she fell back in his arms. He pulled the blanket from her lap, and wrapped it around the two of them from behind, cocooning them in warmth. For the first time in several days, she felt completely safe again, surrounded by his warmth and his scent, and she sighed happily and snuggled in deeper to him.

Eventually, he chuckled against her neck. She pulled back and looked at him a little suspiciously. "What?"

He seemed a little reluctant to tell her, but he did anyway. "Oh, baby. This is such a sweet moment, and I'm so glad we're good again. But I'll be damned if being around you doesn't just always make me think dirty thoughts." He looked sheepish.

Her frown curled up into a smile. "Well, that's understandable. Whatever else we are, we happen to be extremely sexually compatible, Seeley." Scooting her hips closer to the end of the chair, she provided both of them with more of the full-body contact they were desiring, while resting her forehead against his.

"You know what I think? I think I just love you too much for my own damn good."

"Then do it."

"Do what?"

"Right now. Love me too much for your own damn good."

His grin lit up her world, right before he closed the distance between their lips and drank of her eagerly. Their pent-up tension flowed out of their bodies and they melted into one another. Her hands smoothed down his shoulders, his back, and came to rest lightly on his ass. He wanted to feel those hands on his bare skin. "You wanna go to the bedroom?" he asked her, not waiting for answer before leaning over to press soft kisses onto her midriff before playfully tugging up the hem of her shirt with his teeth.

Laughing softly, she touched his head. "I don't know. I'm kind of having fun right where we are."

"Right where we are," he agreed, using his nose to further nudge up her shirt and expose more of the honeyed skin underneath. She relaxed back into the rocker, letting him take his time to undress her at his leisure. It surprised her how relaxed she felt right now, when just a half-hour ago things had felt so uncertain, and so stressed. But with his lips roaming at an unhurried pace up her body, it was easy to let go. Not in the desperate, distracting way she had let go last night…but with a halcyon gentleness that left her feeling completely at ease with herself, with him, and the world. Finally unable to make anymore progress with his mouth, he used his hands to coax the shirt up over her head. He eased back and looked at her, a small smile on his face. "No one has a right to be this beautiful," he told her.

"Like no one has the right to be this sexy?" she asked, pulling his mouth to her for a lazy, thorough kiss while she pulled up his own shirt, hands running appreciatively over the hard upper body that he worked so diligently on.

"We should be illegal," he said seriously, and for the first time in almost two days, she laughed, throatily. The sound was intoxicating to him, and he moaned and buried his face into her chest, tasting her overheated flesh while he unbuttoned her pants and pulled them off slowly, kissing his way down her thighs and calves in the process.

Oh, this felt so ridiculously good. She wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to get him closer, and she gasped when his chest came in contact with hers, her nipples responding to the pressure. Squirming while he kissed her, her patience began to wear just a little bit as her arousal grew.

"Temperance Brennan…do you know what would make me the happiest man on Earth?"

Her eyes flew open and she looked at him warily. Oh, not this again. Please, _please _not this. They just talked about this…

"Going down on you for an hour." She looked at him almost uncomprehendingly for a moment, before bursting into giggles.

"Don't scare me like that," she whispered, slapping his bare shoulder lightly but betraying the action with a simultaneous tug towards her with her feet around his ass. Soon, she was again breathless. "Maybe later," she sighed in his ear. "But first…" Her slender fingers found their way into his pants. She knew just how to touch him, both from instinct and now, from months of practice, experimenting to find just what strokes made him gasp the loudest, shudder the hardest. She used this knowledge now, reminding him again of just how incredible this was, how amazing _she _was.

"Bones," he moaned. "Not that I don't appreciate just how much you drive me crazy, but much more of that and a perfectly good evening is going to end soon in the palm of your hand."

She smiled wickedly. "It already has been a perfectly good evening. But point taken." She pushed his pants off, felt herself body respond powerfully to the sight of him. Moving again to the edge of the chair, she gripped the armrests while his hands covered her. He knew what she wanted. It was what he wanted, too. He had been right when he told her that inside, they both wanted the same thing…to be loved.

Pressing against her, he felt her grip tighten under his. Pausing, he leaned forward, kissed her with a barely-there touch. "I wouldn't trade this for anything, baby." She squirmed, trying to get him inside of her faster, but he kept still, made her look in his eyes. "You understand?"

She nodded, her lust and love mixing together like a powerful potion in her belly. She had told him that he was over-idealistic in his belief about love conquering all, and she wasn't one hundred percent certain that she was entirely incorrect about that. But along with that love come an incredible, potent strength and motivation to somehow make things work—even when they felt so, unbelievably hard. She understood. They could do this. "I love you," she whispered…and with that, she rocked forward in her chair, impaling herself on him.

He gasped and his knuckles whitened against the armrest. Pressing, he rocked the chair back again, slipping himself out of her a bit…then pulling back hard so that they were both exclaiming their pleasure. On the rocker, there was no need to thrust…the chair did that work for them. All there was to do was set the pace, and they struggled to keep it even right now, wanting to feel everything but having difficulty postponing the inevitable explosion.

The chair tapped against the wall behind it at an increasingly frantic cadence, despite their desire to love one another slowly; their bodies demanded one another, needed one another, as badly as their hearts did. They pulled pleasure from one another, easily; her clit bumped against him with ever forward rock, and her breathing became ever more erratic; he struggled to move in the ways that would be the most gratifying for her and quickly found that they were the same as those that were the most pleasing to him, as well. He felt himself boiling on the inside, and struggled against it.

Sensing this, she spoke softly in his ear…"Don't hold back from me." He saw her eyes, and they were pleading, so not wanting this to be an exercise in pleasing her as much it was a mutual giving to each other. Pushing his fear aside, he moaned and let go, rocking her furiously. She followed closely behind, holding him and crying out both with her own intense sensations and the joy of making _him _happy.

The tapping grew slower, then stopped, as they sighed in relief from their orgasms and from their new understandings of each other. They had a ways to go. But they would go together.

"Booth," she said quietly, her breathing slowing. "I really wish I could be everything you want…"

He shushed her. "You are everything I want. I don't want you to be anything else. Just be…_with _me. Always. Okay?"

It was one agreement that she had no doubts about.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: They keep coming! Slowly but surely! Just stay with me, beautiful people. I swear I'll make this story worth your while.**

**But I have totally exciting news on another front, so please read on before jumping to the long-waited-for smut:) Aside from working on our own stories (which are **_**tres **_**awesome and I hope you keep reading), my bffff (best-fanfic-friend-forever) Kinsey Jo and I have been working on a fun, fluffy, smutty collaborative adventure called Happy Holidays, of which the first in the series is the Halloween edition! And we shall be publishing this effort under the screenname of Nekkid Booth Inc. How cute is that, right? So I would highly recommend checking us out. And putting us on alert. And reviewing everything we do. Okay, now I'm asking for a lot, but…ya know. Hopefully, you will be at least a fraction as amused as we are about the whole thing. And we are, btw, very easily amused;)**

**Plug completed. On with the show!**

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She had been trying her hardest to keep from moaning, but finally got tired of suppressing what was coming naturally and grabbed the pillow from under her head, pulling it over her face to muffle her cries. "Thumbudeez gon hea, Boof."

He paused in the midst of work, although he didn't take his intent gaze off the object of his attentions. "Hmm, baby?"

Pulling back the pillow for the moment, she reiterated. "Somebody's gonna hear," she gasped. Jesus. He had at least waited until the morning this time to sneak up to the room where she had slept, tiptoeing in and snuggling next to her as she woke slowly to his kisses. She had thought he had been exaggerating the night before, but apparently he had been completely serious in his intentions of going down on her for an hour. His mouth had been in constant motion on her body, assiduously manipulating just the right spots and bringing her to two shuddering orgasms in the past 38 minutes. She'd be happy to let him continue if she was one hundred percent sure that his mother wasn't going to come up to the room to call them for breakfast.

"Nah. You can be quiet through one more, can't you?" She slammed the pillow back to her mouth just in time to cut off the squeal that came unbidden when he did that thing where his tongue rolled up and sucked in her clit into that tiny, hot tunnel…

She wasn't as confident as he was about her ability to stay silent through his clever and erotic manipulations of these parts of her he had come to know so well, but she somehow couldn't bring herself to protest. She thrust her hips upwards towards him and, satisfied by this participation, he slid his hands under her bottom and licked her with renewed vigor. Again she felt that pleasurable tension growing, beginning to radiate from her core out to all the most sensitive areas of her body…

"Seeley! Temperance! Come on downstairs. Leah's making omelets and _biscuits!"_

Temperance was startled out of her orgasm, and she lifted the pillow from her face. "Omelets and biscuits? Are you _kidding _me?"

Booth groaned. "Not _now." _His tongue went back to what it had previously been doing.

"_Seeeeeeley! Temperance!"_

Unable to focus any longer, Brennan dissolved into giggles. "Come on, _Seeley. _Don't you want a biscuit?" She wiggled a little. "We're here for Jared, not for a vacation. We'd better get moving."

Muttering his discontent, Booth reluctantly crawled up from between her legs, planting a wet kiss onto her mouth. "I was moving in exactly the direction I wanted, thank you very much."

"And you were moving very well," she agreed, kissing him back before sliding out of bed, pulling back on her sweatpants and tank top. "I promise to make evident my appreciation sometime soon."

He grumbled a little, having trouble buttoning his jeans because of the reaction his body _always _had when he put his mouth on his beautiful partner. However, his mood wasn't completely ruined. They had had a good day yesterday, and a good night. He had put a kibosh on talk about domestic bliss, and this had caused her to noticeably relax. And she had gone yesterday morning to get her Depo-Provera booster shot, _on schedule _this time, and that made both of them feel better. So, stumbling down the stairs, his grumpy act was mostly just for show.

"Well good _morning, _sleepy-heads," Seeley's mother said cheerfully. She and Jared's girlfriend Leah were standing over the stove, delicious aromas arising out of whatever they were cooking. "Sit down. We'll be eating soon."

Brennan looked a little uncomprehendingly at the duo at the stove. Leah was dressed impeccably and her hair and makeup were perfect at 8 in the morning on a Saturday. A pristine apron unnecessarily covered her dress. Brennan felt a little self conscious as she sat, having the urge to go back upstairs and put on something a little more respectable. Jared, sitting at the table, looked up from his newspaper with a grin. "You look like shit, bro," he said, pointing with amusement at his brother's sleep-tousled hair and bleary-eyes.

"Jared, language!" his mother scolded, while Booth looked at him witheringly.

"Aw, Mom, Seel knows I'm just kidding. He wouldn't feel like he was home unless I made fun of him. Right, Seel?" He nudged his brother, who chose to ignore this and grab a biscuit from the basket on the table. Brennan watched the scene curiously.

The patriarch of the family patted Jared on the shoulder. "No matter, son. You're the king of the castle today." Brennan had to laugh when Booth put two fingers in his mouth and feigned vomiting.

"Stop antagonizing each other, boys. Here, eat your eggs." Plates were placed in front of all of them. Booth's mother and Leah immediately set to cleaning up the pots and pans used to make breakfast, and Brennan was the only woman left at the table. She looked around a little concernedly.

"Should I…you know…be helping?" she whispered to Booth, suddenly feeling as if she had entered some strange, gender-segregated universe that she didn't understand.

Booth's father heard her. "Don't be ridiculous, Temperance," his voiced boomed, and she was a bit embarrassed at having been overheard. "You're a doctor. You just sit here and eat and relax."

Her eyebrows raised, but she began to eat. "What do you do, Leah?" she asked the woman who looked perfectly content to be up to her elbows in soapsuds.

"I take care of kids at a daycare center," Leah replied cheerfully. "It's not a glamorous job, but trust me, I'm used to cleaning up. This is nothing."

"What a great little lady, huh?" the older man said, again patting his eldest son in approval. Temperance winced at the term 'little lady;' with his mouth full, Seeley looked at her with understanding, but also a hint of a warning to not let it get to her.

"Yup. You should have _seen _the dinner she made for me the night we found out of my promotion. It was incredible." Leah beamed over her shoulder at her boyfriend.

"We are so proud of you, dear," his mother said. "Were you expecting it?"

"Sort of. It's Corporate America, you know? I know the right people, work hard, do what I'm supposed to do…it's inevitable that I'll get ahead."

Temperance could have piped up about how his white male privilege might have had something to do with it, but even she wasn't quite awake enough for that discussion yet.

"But…you know…I think I'm going to slow down a little bit now work-wise. Not getting any younger…it's time to start settling down a little bit, you know? There're more important things in life. Need to start getting home before 7."

Booth nearly spit out his eggs. "You get home by 7? Every night?"

Jared laughed. "We can't all be slaves to the man, Seel." Booth went silent. "Anyway, now I finally have something worth coming home for. A beautiful woman and a great dinner."

"If you take it easy at work, maybe you can come home early and fix dinner for Leah. I'm sure she's tired after taking care of all those kids all day," Brennan pointed out.

Everyone stared at her for a second. Then, Booth's father began to laugh, a deep, rich sound. Jared joined in, then Booth's mother. "Isn't she sweet?" the older man chuckled. "You know what, Seeley? I always pictured it would be your brother coming home with the independent-woman type, him being so ambitious and successful and all. Interesting how things work out." He leaned back in his chair. "No matter, I suppose. You never know what's going to happen after you get married and settle down. Your girl here might be begging you to work harder so she can stay at home with the kids."

Now it was Brennan's turn to almost choke on her orange juice. "I don't think…"

Booth wiped his mouth as he abruptly stood up. "You know, this is a great breakfast, Mom and Leah, thanks for that. But Temperance and I have somewhere we need to be." Brennan looked at him questioningly.

"We do?"

"Yup. Remember, we have to…" His eyes looked desperate for a second. "Pick up a pumpkin for Parker."

"Well you can do that anytime, Seeley. They have them right down the street at the market," his mother said, finally joining them at the table.

"No, no. We actually have to go pick one. At the patch down at the farm." He grabbed Brennan's arm and she allowed herself to be pulled up, still feeling confused. "And we have to go early, or else they get all picked through."

"Okay. Well, have fun. Just remember to be back later this afternoon for the cake. This is Jared's day, after all."

"Yeah, got it. Jared's day. Bye, all." He practically dragged Brennan out of the kitchen and barely allowed her to pick up her bag and jacket before leaving the house. As soon as they hit the car, he started babbling. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

"Booth! Relax." She shook her head confusedly. "I'm not entirely sure what you're apologizing for. And what the hell are we doing? Picking _pumpkins?"_

He looked at her for a second before realizing how paranoid he sounded. But as soon as his father said the word 'marriage' he suddenly had a vision of Temperance fleeing in the middle of the night in his SUV, and him never seeing or hearing from her again. "I was just worried that you were feeling uncomfortable…ah, hell, _I _was feeling uncomfortable. Just wanted us to get some air for awhile."

She smiled, a little amused. "No…it's okay, it's not your fault. Besides, if anything, it allows me to better understand where you get _your _attitudes from."

"I don't think that way," he said quickly.

"I _know." _She put her hand on his thigh reassuringly as they pulled out of the driveway, then pulled down the visor so she could use the mirror there to put her hair into a ponytail. "I am capable of differentiating between you and your family members, Booth."

"Yeah. It's not so hard when they are all so damn perfect, is it?" he muttered, almost to himself.

"Hey. Nobody's perfect." He glanced over at her, grateful for the support. She smiled. "Besides…I don't think you look like shit at all. The just-got-out-of-bed thing is a good look for you."

Remembering his disheveled appearance, he laughed a little bit. "Thanks, beautiful. It's one of my favorites, too." He squeezed her hand.

She changed the subject. "So where are we going?"

"Oh. We're going to this farm down the road…they have all this fall stuff. Hayrides, pumpkin patches, corn mazes. And I promised Parker I'd have a giant pumpkin for us to carve for his next visit."

"I always thought that would be a fun tradition."

He nearly slammed on the breaks. "You've never _carved a jack o' lantern?" _Looking horrified.

"Does that _really _surprise you?"

He shook his head. "I suppose it shouldn't. But jeesh, Bones…well, Parker and I will have to show you the basics. Park'll like that…he thinks you know everything, so it thrills him when he can teach you something."

That made her smile. "You know, it's actually based on a pretty sad legend…how Jack was barred from both heaven and hell, and when he asked the devil how he was supposed to see in the dark purgatory to which he was relegated, the devil threw him an ember from hell, which he put in a carved-out turnip and wandered around with for eternity."

"Don't tell Parker that."

She sighed, wondering if she'd ever get a true sense of when kids were old enough to know the truth about things. And _this _was why she wasn't a day-care teacher. Among many, many other reasons…

They arrived at the farm, and Brennan felt like she had stepped into a brochure for Amish country. "So what do we do? Just tromp through their fields and take their pumpkins?"

"No. That sounds rude, and vaguely illegal." Despite her reassurances, he was in no hurry to go back to his childhood home, with his father pushing marriage and his brother dating Martha Stewart. "We take a hayride. And go through the maze. And if we find our way out, we go pick pumpkins."

She raised her eyebrows. "_If _we find our way out?"

He nodded seriously. "It might take awhile."

"I have an excellent sense of direction, Booth."

"It's a good thing you are so hot, Bones. Because otherwise? No fun _at all." _This made her laugh, and he silently thanked his lucky stars that she had developed the ability not to take _everything _so literally.

It was getting cooler out, so they grabbed their jackets before leaving the car and paying for the privilege of getting lost in a sea of brown husk. It was still early, so there were very few people there, making the experience of wandering through the maze a little eerie as far as Booth was concerned. The only sound was the wind whistling through the stalks. He grasped Brennan's hand. "Stay close, 'kay?"

"So what did your dad mean when he said he thought Jared would bring home the 'independent woman?' Were you expected to bring home Holly Homemaker?"

He sighed. He had been wondering that himself. "I don't know. I think he just figured that as much as I want to take care of people…that I'd want to be taken care of myself. Maybe he thinks I _need _taken care of."

Her eyes flickered over. "Do you?"

"Not like _he _thinks I do. Did we try this way?"

"I think we went that way before. Let's turn right this time. How does he think you need taken care of?"

"Ya know. Having someone so completely dependent on me that I wouldn't even think of taking risks in the field. Having someone watch me so closely that if I even thought about gambling, she'd slap my hand. Like that."

Temperance pursed her lips. "So he must not think too much of me, huh?"

Booth laughed. "Are you kidding? He thinks you are fabulous. Way too good for me." He put his arm around her as they sauntered, meandering through the maze. "You, my love, are the brilliant Temperance Brennan. You are a _doctor."_

A smile touched her face. "Yes, I caught that. Which apparently exempts me from any household chores." The smile faded a little bit. "It's not true, you know." She looked from side to side. "Didn't we just see that little clearing before? Are we walking in circles?"

"Na, we're fine. What's not true?"

"No Booth, I swear. We haven't been paying attention. We're lost."

He grinned. "What happened to your 'excellent sense of direction?'"

Glaring at him, she replied, "Even _doctors _can get distracted."

"Oh yeah? What distracted you? Little old me?" Grabbing the lapels of her jacket, he kissed her frown away. She pulled back slightly but he followed her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her thoroughly and leaving her a little breathless. By the time he released her mouth, she was smiling again, the wind tousling her auburn hair and making her cheeks pink. "So…what's not true?"

"That I'm too good for you. That's crazy. There couldn't be anyone better for me. I don't care if he had ten degrees on his wall, or millions of dollars, or a trophy case full of Nobel Peace Prizes. It wouldn't matter, because he wouldn't be you." She shrugged, and as nonchalant as she seemed he was incredibly touched.

"Aw, Bones," he whispered, pulling her back to him and warming his lips against hers. "You know what?"

"What?"

"I don't care if we got lost in here all day."

She laughed lightly, took his hand. "Come on." Pulling him off the trail and in between the rows of corn waving in the breeze. Once they were nestled in where not even a helicopter would see them, she pushed her arms under his jacket and pulled his body to hers so that they were likely inappropriately close for being outside on a cool fall day.

"My, my, Dr. Brennan. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you might like me or something."

"Obviously, you don't know any better." She sighed lightly as his slightly chilled hands inched under her sweater, caressing her tummy. A memory suddenly came to her of lying, bound and blindfolded and trembling in anticipation as his literally ice-cold fingers trailed down her body right to her…okay, there was no part of her that was cold anymore. She pressed herself against him hard, encouraging him to move his hands further up her shirt.

He was now reminded painfully that they hadn't really finished what they had started this morning. He thought about asking her if this was really alright, then realized that by now he knew. He knew when she was worried, or upset, or excited, or happy, or hot for it. Right now, it was the last of all these choices, and without a second thought he stripped off his jacket and laid it on the ground, sweeping her legs out from under her as she laughed, and laying her down on top of it. Covering her with his body, he made sure she wasn't cold even for a second. "I love being in the great outdoors with you," he murmured, dropping kisses onto her cheeks and down the column of her throat.

"I love being anywhere with you," she admitted honestly, feeling herself instinctively arch into him while he pulled lightly at the elastic of her sweatpants.

How could a woman make sweatpants look and feel this sexy? He shook his head in amazement, and she caught the gesture. "What?"

"I think my Dad and brother might be right. I think you probably _are _too good for me."

"Booth, two things." She guided his hands under her shirt again and tried to wiggle her own between them to unbutton his pants. "Firstly…that's ludicrous. Secondly…" She moaned lightly, the sound mingling with the wind swirling over them as his fingers found her breasts and squeezed the tips lightly. "Secondly, please don't ever talk about any of your family members while we are doing this, ever again."

"Point taken," he agreed, and then stopped _talking _and thinking as he kissed and caressed her passionately, heating them both up and feeling himself hardening while he pushed against her softness and felt the goosebumps on the flesh of her breasts. She finally accomplished her goal pushed at his jeans, laughing lightly as she remembered that he hadn't had the time to put on underwear this morning. Now, she was reaping the benefits. Then, she laughed _harder _at that thought, imagining 'reaping' benefits in a corn field. Although he wasn't privy to the joke, he smiled against her lips. Her laughter was like music to him, and he hadn't heard it enough lately. When he managed to work her own pants down and thrust into her for the first time, he tried to decide what he liked better, her laughter or her moans. Realizing he couldn't possibly make that decision, he figured that right now, under these particular conditions, he'd be more pleased by the latter and began pumping her more deeply. Yes. Yes, he definitely liked those sounds, and after awhile he was making them with her, alternating between kissing her and gasping for air.

The orgasm she had begun building for the third time this morning made another appearance now, thanking her mightily for revisiting this hot encounter. "Seeley…so….good…_God…" _And her words at least temporarily convinced him that it was _he _who was the king of the castle today. Or at least of this corn field…he carefully and methodically brought her to the edge, then over it. Once he was positive that she was feeling as good as she had ever felt in her life, he followed her, his body screaming its relief. They stayed together like this until they remembered just how cold it could be outside in October, when you didn't have a jacket (or pants) on.

Standing and dusting themselves off, they kissed lightly and squeezed each other's hands before continuing on with the maze. It took awhile…but they eventually found their way out, just like they knew they would. Somehow, it seemed like this might be significant. And after they were through, and harvested their pumpkin, and made their way back home, it helped to think of that place as just another maze to find their path through.

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**A/N: A little less angsty this time. Sigh, just can't figure out what I love more, the fluff or the angst…must contemplate this during my lunchbreaks:)**

**I picked pumpkins just this way last weekend! But without the sex. But it was still fun! I'd highly recommend it!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello, my beautiful fellow Bones-groupies. Back again with another installment of this sequel. This one is more of a transitional chapter…pretty fluffy, always with more couples' issues on the horizon. I love couples' issues. It's sort of my job to love them. Literally:) So please, read, review, and as always, love to hear your thoughts about where you'd like things to go, or where you think things are going!**

**So just in case you missed the plug that was in Scenes From a Hat…I must again shout from the rooftops that you should read the Happy Holidays series, produced by myself and the incomparable Kinsey Jo under the penname nekkidboothinc! Our Halloween edition began the saga and it was quite a hit…the next edition will be out on Veteran's Day, so stay on the lookout! Why? Because I love you and value your opinions. And because KJ and I make a pretty fantabulous team, if I do say so myself;)**

**So, plug completed…on with the show!**

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Sometimes, Brennan felt that she and Booth were never more normal than they were at the diner, sharing a cup of coffee after a hard day's work. Not that the other times and places weren't good—she loved the sometimes-serious, sometimes-playful back-and-forth discourse they had in the car on the way to interview a suspect. She loved the sleepy teasing that they took part in when lounging in bed on a Sunday morning (did Temperance Brennan _lounge _now? Yes…yes, she did). And of course, she _adored_ the dirty talk that typically followed long days apart, when they began to feel the familiar itch for each other's…um…company. Yes, all of that was very good, indeed. But when they sat across from one another, sipping their coffee and chatting about everything under the sun and nothing at all, anything that was hard or complicated about their relationship disappeared. They were the essence of Booth and Bones, and she was the picture of contentment. Right now, they were discussing, of all things, Parker's pumpkin. Or, more accurately, Bitey, the murderous vampumpkin from Hell.

"I promise you, Booth, it's completely developmentally appropriate for a boy Parker's age to be fascinated with mythical creatures and identify with them. In some ways, it's much healthier for him to associate them with fun and entertainment, rather than to internalize a fear of them."

Booth still looked a little squeamish. "Maybe. But it still kind of disturbing when it's your own kid." He was remembering watching in disbelief as his sweet little boy delightedly instructed his partner to carve a fanged snarl into the face of the pumpkin. Then demanded red food coloring so that it would like his pumpkin had just had a feast. Then asked if they could leave the carving knife buried firmly in the side to add to the effect. Yesiree. His little angel had a little devilish streak.

"He's a good kid. That's not going to change." Her voice was soothing.

He smiled gratefully at her. Bones claimed to know so little about children, but her understanding of Parker was somehow, to him, inherently trustworthy. "Well, as long as you don't think he's turning into some morbid, death-obsessed child of the night—I suppose I'll hold off on taking him to a psychiatrist."

Laughing, she shook her head ruefully at his dramatics. "Probably a good move."

Booth's face turned a little more serious. "He was disappointed when you left on Saturday evening. Was wondering when you'd be there to tuck him in every night he stayed." He hadn't meant for it to sound like a guilt trip, but it sort of came out that way, he thought.

His partner sighed. "I know. I would have liked to stay. But since we were away all last weekend, I had so much work to catch up on…" She knew that really wasn't the issue. Both sets of eyes looked guilty when they met. "Booth…"

"No, don't worry about it…I'm sorry. I just wanted to let you know how much you're missed when you're gone. Nothing else." He smiled at her, just a little forced, and tried to change the subject. "So what do you think of our suspects? The husband was really looking good for this one, but the boss is showing a little to much interest in this case, if you ask me…"

"I still want to live with you," she interrupted. The words sounded awkward to her, but she just wasn't used to him being the avoidant one in their relationship, and she wasn't going to let him get away with that now. Not when things had been going so well.

"Temperance, we don't have to make any decisions right now…"

"No, I think we should. The house is ready for us now." She shrugged. "I think we're ready for it, too."

He looked at her intently, a little disbelieving of how easy this suddenly was. "You sure, gorgeous?" Her nod was simple, but conveyed no hidden meaning, no internal conflict about whether or not this was right for her, and for them. He reached across the table and squeezed her hand tightly. "I'm gonna build the best office for you," he promised her. "It'll be a fortress. And you can get all the work done you need to, for as long as you need to. And then when you're done, I will entertain you in any room of the house you want."

She was laughing. "That sounds…as perfect as anything could be." Her face became more serious. "It'll be different for me, and I can't promise there won't need to be some…adjusting. But that's really what I want. A place where we can be ourselves, and be together at the same time. I think we might be on the same page now…"

Thinking about what got them on the same page, he realized that he had largely relaxed his white-knuckled death-grasp on their relationship. And since he had done so, he had been gradually coming to an epiphany: she wasn't going anywhere. In fact, she seemed more invested than ever. And this entire process, happening largely under his own radar, had allowed them to largely move past seeing how they fit together as a couple, and began understanding how their relationship fit more largely into the context of their lives. As evidenced by his increasing reluctance to let his family anywhere near Temperance again. Holy hell. Maybe _he _should have worked out his own family issues before bringing Bones into it…

No family thoughts right now. He quashed them as they discussed the details and strategic aspects of their moving plans. And by the time the conversation had died down, their coffee was cold and their waitress was looking at them a little impatiently. He had to chuckle a little bit at that. It felt like the old, "just-partners" days, when their reluctance to abandon the stimulating pleasure of the other's company led them to sit here for hours on end. "So what do you do on Monday nights, now that it's too cold to swim?" he asked her.

She looked a little embarrassed. "I do laundry."

Oh, it was _so _hard not to make some sort of homemaker joke right now. He kept his mouth shut. "You want company?"

"Well, I have some research I should probably do…"

"'Kay, babe."

"_But, _I was going to say that I can do that while you watch your show later. And we can spend the rest of the evening together." She smiled at his pleased expression. "Hey, we have to learn how to function while we're living together sometime, don't we?"

"Very true," he agreed, tossing down the tip for the (probably relieved) waitress and standing. "It can't all be globetrotting and great sex. Sometimes, you have to watch TV and do laundry." And right now, even that sounded like paradise.

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"Is it over yet?" she teased him as she leaned over his shoulder from behind the couch, pressing a kiss against his neck as he stared engrossed at whatever crime drama it was that he watched on Monday nights. She had bought the TV so that she could watch documentaries related to her work. The basic cable that she had purchased made life just a little more bearable for Booth when he was over at her apartment and she was busy.

"Just about. Are _you _done?" His eyes stayed lodged in the television set, but his head tipped to the side, silently asking her to continue with her attentions. When she pulled back he made a displeased sound in the back of his throat, and his hand reached back blindly in an attempt to grab her. She was already halfway to the laundry alcove.

"I've got to put this stuff in the dryer. Remember what we said about great sex and laundry? They are _both _important."

He turned in his seat, starting to say something about still needing to prioritize, and then got distracted by the sight of her bending over, pulling the wet clothes out of the washer to deposit in the dryer. He always did like the way her ass looked in blue jeans.

She hummed softly to herself while she transferred the laundry from one machine to the other, and then caught herself, chuckling a bit at the thought that she was probably doing a pretty good imitation of Leah, Jared's girlfriend, right now. Singing while doing chores. But, different than Leah, she reminded herself, because her sense of contentment was coming not from taking care of other people, but from being productive in general. She had gotten a lot done today, even despite their extended stay at the diner. And now, she thought as she slammed the door of the dryer shut and set it vibrating softly, she could justify taking some time to relax with her partner. That is, if she could pull him away from the TV…

Brennan was unable to finish her thought because the instant she turned, she found her ass being pushed up against the cool metal of the dryer, while her lover pressed his hips into hers and captured her lower lip between his own lips, sucking and nibbling softly. His hands braced on the machine to either side of her body, and she found herself quite willingly trapped in this tight spot.

"You know," he told her, pushing his groin against her, "You're right. Laundry and great sex are both very, _very _important…and multitasking is an _essential _skill."

She sighed lightly at his implication, feeling a delightful dual throbbing from the machine behind her and…well, the one in front of her, as well. Grinding back against him just as hard while thrusting one hand into his hair to deepen the kiss, she suddenly felt absolutely _nothing _in common with Leah, in her apron and dress and perfect hairdo. "Is your show over?" she asked him between heated kisses.

"I like this show better." Punctuating his point, he slowly pulled down the zipper of the sweater she was wearing with his thumb and middle finger, making sure that his index finger traced the path of the zipper on its way. The dryer was heating up the little alcove, making the area feel a little steamy, and this wasn't helping the state of her body. When the zipper was halfway down, Booth paused in his exploration, pressing searing hot kisses against her exposed chest, above her bra. When he rose up, he was pleased by the flush that had come over her, not just from the temperature of the room. Glancing downward again, he remembered what he had come over here for. With a growl, he lifted her and sat her directly on top of the now-shaking machine, now pawing much less artfully at her tempting pink flesh. Pulling at her bra, he tugged down one cup to expose one pink, swollen nipple, begging for his attention. Ooohh yes. Tongue swirling around the taut nub, he sighed his contentment at having his mouth on her while she squirmed against him in delight and worked desperately with her own hands to get her bra undone.

Distracted thoughts flowed through her. How warm she was. How the suction he was creating against her flesh seemed to pull at something deep inside of her. How the vibrations of the machine underneath her were joining with the quivering of her own womb, leaving her unable to tell the difference between the internal and the external. How right and real and normal yet exciting this all felt. She used her fingers in his hair to drag his mouth back up to hers to kiss her before whispering in his ear. "Take off your clothes now, baby."

He forced a chuckle over the lump in his throat that always formed when she talked sexy to him. "What do you wanna see?" He was teasing her, but already pulling his shirt up over his head, unable to deny her.

"Hopefully, a hot naked man looking at me with his make-out face on."

"Make-out face?" he asked, nearly tripping on his pants in an attempt to get them off as quick as possible.

"Angela told me about it. The expression that a man gets when he wants to kiss you really, really badly."

"Nobody else has been looking at you lately with their make-out faces on, have they?" he asked, riled up by her and the heat and the thought of anyone even _thinking _of looking at her like this, pink-skinned and topless in front of him. When she shrugged innocently, it led him to believe that she had _meant _to provoke him. In response, he sucked on her neck and nipped there a little punishingly. She seemed to take it all in stride, wrapping her long, jean-covered legs around his hips. Without him even noticing it, she slid her ass off the end of the dryer, sliding down his body and surprising him by ducking out of his arms and circling him, pushing his back up against the now-warm machine and kneeling in front of him.

"Keep meeting all my make-out needs and you'll never have to never have to worry about it," she said throatily, before pulling his underwear down half-way and tracing the lines of his exposed hipbones with the tip of her tongue. She liked the strangled noise he made in the back of his throat at her proximity to his most delicate areas. Which didn't seem so delicate right now…she tugged his underwear down the rest of the way and purred her approval. Stroking him gently with her hands a few times first, her mouth watered a little bit at the sight of the treat she was about to get. Torturing him for awhile with the lightest of kisses, she waited until his groans became demanding before taking him fully in her mouth, thrumming her tongue against the underside of his erection in time with the gentle thumping of the machine behind him. God, she really did love those sounds he made when he was right on the edge of losing control.

With a tortured gasp, he pulled away from her before he embarrassed himself, ignoring her pout and lifting her by her shoulders to give her the hot, open-mouth kiss of her life. Holding her by the hips, he sat her up on the dryer again, where he had put her in the first place. "I'm pretty sure that if you keep working that magic, your make-out needs are guaranteed filled for the rest of you life." Trying to calm down the hormones that were coursing through him at nearly teenaged-speeds, he took his time stripping her of her pants, and stroking the milky flesh of her thighs.

"I'm going to hold you to that," she promised, her eyes squeezed shut during his tickling, and then flying open when she felt the engorged tip of him brush against her trembling inner flesh. "Booth," she gasped, tossing her head back, her body already being vibrated to a frenzy by the machine, without any intentional movement on her part. Relentlessly, he leaned into her, filling her with the thick heat of him, making her feel she was being cocooned from the inside out by a delicious, nearly unbearable warmth. A long moan left her, and her body tensed in preparation for the explosion that was to come.

"Hold on, baby," he said raggedly, showering her breasts with kisses while he held her hips to his, tightly. "Let's do this together…" He thrust into her slowly, lovingly, and couldn't stop the cry that was ripped from his own throat when he bottomed out inside of her. She grabbed onto his hips, as well, not content to let him passively rock her to orgasm, but wanting to drive this ride with him. It drove him crazy every time her breath hitched, and the warmth and the rocking and the shaking of the machine was just too much stimulation to allow them to last for long. He came first, almost unexpectedly, flying apart inside of her.

The feeling of him throbbing deep inside completed the experience for Temperance, who now felt her entire body was buzzing from the inside out. She screamed out one final "Yes!" before yanking him as close to her as she could get him, and toppling off the precipice that she had been lingering on. He grunted and pulled her hard to him, trying his best to hold her firmly while they shook for the inside and the outside. Finally realizing the effort was in vain, he lifted her from the machine, carrying her as gently as he could from the tiny, hot alcove to the bedroom. Placing her down, he crawled beside her, and they lay, cooling down and panting slightly.

He looked over at her, grinning at the slight, breathless smile on her face. "Not bad for 'normal,' huh?"

"I'll take it," she agreed, rolling to her side and resting her head on his strong shoulder, feeling as satisfied as she ever had. Tilting her head up and pressing a light kiss onto his light kiss onto his lips, she laughed when he started to deepen in, pulling away. "You're going to kill me, Booth."

"Kill you?" He feigned alarm.

"Death by good lovin'."

"If you've gotta go…" He made her squeal as he pounced on top of her. They wrestled for awhile until they were interrupted by a ringing phone. "Go away," Seeley shouted to the phone. It apparently wasn't in the mood to be obedient.

Laughing, she wrapped the sheet around her and shuffled out of the room. "You aren't the only one who requires my attention tonight," she called behind her as she made to answer the phone.

"But I'm the most important one," she heard him from the other room, and she shook her head at him.

"Brennan." She held the phone with her ear against her shoulder while she tried to readjust the sheet around her so it wouldn't fall off."

"Temperance?" The voice sounded familiar, but it didn't click right away who it belonged to.

"Yes…who is this?"

"This is Jared."

"Jared…" she said slowly.

"Jared Booth…Seeley's brother." It had come together before he said the words, but that didn't decrease her surprise.

"Oh…hi, Jared. No, I recognize you now. I just wasn't expecting you." Her brow furrowed a little in confusion, and she remembered to make small talk. "Um…how are you? How's Leah?"

"I'm fine," he said, his voice sounding vaguely distracted. "Leah's doing well, too…she's off making cookies for a bake sale right now."

_Of course she is, _Temperance thought, smiling to herself. In the back of her mind, she had the ridiculous thought that maybe "making cookies" was some kind of code phrase for what she and Booth just did, and she had to hold back a chortle at the thought of Little Miss Perfect turning into a wildcat once the lights turned out. Yeah, right. The woman probably didn't even take her apron off during sex. She shook off the image. "What can I do for you, Jared? Is this about Seeley?"

"Not at all," he said, and she found herself a little annoyed at how quickly he brushed off the topic of his younger brother. "I actually called to see if you'd be willing to give me a little business tutorial."

"What kind of advice are you looking for?" she asked him, thoroughly confused now.

"Remember how I mentioned around Labor Day that I was considering trying to publish that book on growth investment that I co-authored?"

"Mmm-hmm." She remembered wondering how anyone could find such things interesting enough to write an entire _book _on it, but was vaguely admiring that someone in the world could do it.

"Well, a publishing company accepted it."

"Jared, that's great.' She was genuinely impressed.

"Yes, it's great…but I don't know anything about negotiating these things, how to manage editorially, or how to plan the design. And while I was stressing over these things, I remembered that I know a best-selling author. So I decided to give her a call and see if she'd be willing to lend her expertise."

"Wow. I…well…sure. I mean, it's a little different, publishing fiction, but I can give you some ideas about things to pay attention to, and what to look out for." She moved to her desk and began pulling out some of her writing resources.

"That's great! Could we do that over lunch sometime this week?"

"Oh! You don't have time now?"

"Ah, this is such a stuffy medium. We might as well make it enjoyable for both of us. I'll treat, since you are doing this favor for me."

She didn't know whether to be pleased that Booth's brother was so obviously trusting of her knowledge in this area, or put off by this little bartering agreement. "You don't have to do that."

"No, I insist. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your advice. And besides…you're practically family." Was that a touch of humor she heard in his voice?

"I'm glad to help you out, Jared." She heard Booth's impatient teasing of her from the other room, insisting that she come back to bed. "Is Thursday at one okay?"

"That would be perfect. I'll have my secretary give you a call once something is arranged?"

Secretary? Arranging something? She had just thought they'd meet up at the diner. Again, she reminded herself that Jared was from a different world than what she was used to. "Sounds good."

"Wonderful. Thanks again, Temperance." His voice was charming, and she heard an element of _her _Booth in that tone, only a little bit more polished. "You really are fantastic, you know."

For some reason, his compliment made her feel slightly uncomfortable. "See you later, Jared." Hanging up, she was left with a vaguely puzzled feeling, which she pushed away as wandered back to the bedroom to join her partner. However strange this particular conversation was, she new that once she entered into that bedroom with the man she loved, everything would be normal again. Just the way it was supposed to be.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So…officially no more writing at work. Just too busy. Sad:( We'll make it work though…don't you worry. You keep telling me you want this, and I'll deliver. Slowly. But it'll happen;)**

**Um….have I mentioned the Happy Holidays series that KJ and I are doing under nekkidboothinc? Yes? Oh well, you get to hear it again. Check it out! It's basically the funnest thing ever.**

**Have a fabulous holiday for those of you who celebrate it….I'm so totally grateful for all of my readers, who make this experience so worth it. You are on my "give thanks" list!**

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"I don't like this. Have I mentioned that I don't like this?" he griped. To be fair, by this point he was only halfheartedly griping, laying on the bed in his boxers and flipping through the pictures they took today of the empty rooms. He was mentally filling them. They would get new furniture for the living room, they had agreed on that. Well, maybe he'd keep his old recliner. He had worn it in just the way he liked. And they'd keep Bones' bedroom stuff. He was sort of attached to this bed; call him sentimental.

"I know, Booth," she called from the adjacent bathroom, a little garbled because she was brushing her teeth. "We have discussed how neither of us like this. But that it is surely harmless."

"It's not a good idea to be giving business advice to family."

"He's not…" she started automatically, but then stopped, catching herself before she said something that he would surely find hurtful, even though it wasn't intended that way. "I'm not going to give him advice, really. Just some guidelines." Rinsing the last of the foam from her mouth, she poked her head out of the bathroom for a second. "Besides, you want me to form bonds with your family, right? Jared's identity is formed primarily through his work. By helping him become more successful in his business venture, he'll accept me more readily than he would otherwise. What are you doing?"

"Planning our new bedroom. I don't know if I want you bonding with my brother. That makes me feel weird."

"Don't worry Booth. We won't bond that much. I don't bake cookies."

"Huh?"

Looking out again, she saw him looking intently at the pictures, only half paying attention to her. She frowned, not knowing what could possibly be so interesting about digital images of empty rooms. Suddenly finding herself in competition with the camera for his attention, she strutted out of the bathroom barefoot in her pink lace boyshort panties and matching bra. "Cookies. Hot, sweet, tasty cookies." She struck a faux sexy pose, with one hand on her thrust-out hip and the other laced through her hair, giving him a pouty look and nearly collapsing in giggles when he glanced up and his eyes nearly bugged out. "So I have to practically walk around naked to get your mind off interior decorating?" she teased.

"Apparently. Do that again."

"What? This?" she asked as she posed again, smiling. Quick as a flash, he lifted up the camera and snapped her picture.

"_Booth!" _she admonished, still not being able to help her laughter.

"What?" he said innocently, slipping the camera under the pillow and looked at her with wide eyes.

"That was _completely _inappropriate," she laughed, grabbing his own discarded dress shirt off the bed and slipping it around her shoulders, buttoning a few buttons. Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her down to the bed, giggling the whole way. Once she was down, he hovered over her.

"I need something for when you go on those long trips for your book signings or for research…something to get me through those long nights."

"Aren't your memories enough?"

"Man can't live off memories alone." He was mostly just teasing her. But damn she looked sexy lying below him in his white shirt and her delicate panties, face free of makeup but flushed from her laughter.

She saw his fingers slip under his pillowcase to the camera and she gave him a warning look.

"Please?" he asked nicely, his question accompanied by the smile that made her insides flip a little bit.

"Will you delete them?" As soon as she asked, he knew he had her, and he grinned.

"Smile, baby," he whispered. He pushed the bottom corner of her (his) shirt up, exposing pink lace and just a swatch of the milky skin of her abdomen. His eyes locked on hers for a moment, tacitly assuring that this was okay with her. In answer, she smiled seductively and stretched, her hair splaying across the white sheets and putting every model in every men's magazine he'd ever seen to shame. Dear God. Slowly, he raised the camera, capturing her pose in the lens and holding in there until her smile grew in anticipation—perfect—click. Greedily, he flipped the camera mode to image view, anxious to assess his…um…photography skills. Oh, she didn't really expect him to _delete _these, did she? They belonged on the walls of a museum somewhere. A personal museum that only he would have access to, of course…His thoughts were interrupted when she flipped around to her knees and pushed him to his back on the bed.

Somehow, the camera had brought out her inner exhibitionist, and even she was a little surprised at the show she was making in crawling towards him, catlike, while he snapped frame after frame of her every movement: biting her lip almost innocently while her fingers nimbly unbuttoned her shirt, shrugging it off and looking at him over her shoulder into the lens, pulling down the straps of her bra and pushing her breasts together to create the most tempting cleavage. All of it, somehow arousing her as much as it was him. Why? Maybe it was because the intensity of his eyes on her—and his eagerness to capture everything about her. It made her feel somehow more than ordinary; like she was the most exceptional creature to ever walk the face of the earth. Reaching behind her back, she flipped open the hooks of her bra; before she let it fall, she reached for the camera and gently took it from Booth's hands, tossing it aside before letting her bra fall off to the bed. She loved the way his eyes turned black when she bared herself to him. "Why do you want me so much?" she whispered, not entirely sure what prompted her to ask the question but now very interested in the answer.

His now-free hands trailed their way up her body as she straddled him. Pulling her chest a little closer to his mouth, he pressed gentle kisses against the marks where her bra had pressed into her before blowing cool air onto her already-hardening nipples, enjoying how they puckered in response to his teasing. "Why do I want you…" he repeated slowly, now tracing his fingers around the tight peaks of her breasts, making her squirm in an effort to increase the contact. "I want you because when I see how passionate you are about everything you do, I just know how incredible it's going to be to be the focus of that passion. And I want you because you bring so much excitement to the world, and just being in your presence kicks my energy up." He tugged her face downwards to his so that he could kiss her now, deeply, while stroking his hands down her bare back and then circling them around to finally give her nearly-aching nipples the attention they deserved. "I want you because you are incredible and sexy and unique and fun. And I want you, Temperance Brennan, because you aren't like all the other girls. And I _love _that."

That worked for her. It was enough of a reason to kiss him lustfully in thanks, while grinding her lower half against his. She felt him grow in response to her stimulation, which in turn made her grow wet. Her memory had neatly catalogued most every encounter in which he had used that part of him, hot and hard and throbbing, to bring her the most exquisite pleasure, and all those memories flowed through her now. She wanted him. Wanted to take everything that he was willing to give her. Wanted to be shown, by him, just how incredible she was. Lifting up, she dragged her moist center up his body, higher, and higher, adjusted her legs over his shoulders, until she was straddling his face, looking down at him with a wicked smile. "I want…"

"You want me to fuck you with my tongue." The man had a good memory, that was for sure. And he would never forget that time, so long ago now, that she first made that request of him. He was now less surprised, but just as aroused as he was then.

"Into oblivion," she whispered, and chuckled with him softly until he pressed a light kiss onto her pulsing center, through her panties. Gasping, she fell backward a bit, bracing herself against his hips while she strained against him, trying to get contact back with his mouth without smothering the poor man. Thankfully, he seemed happy to be smothered, as he carefully pulled what was covering her aside, took a hold of her ass, and gently circled her clit with his tongue. Shuddering, she groaned, her fingers digging into the skin of his hips.

If this pained him, he didn't show it, only gripping her harder and probing more deeply, running his tongue up and down her wet flesh to vary the stimulation, pausing to thrust hard inside of her one moment and to flick rapidly over her clit the next. All in all, giving her the tongue lashing that she so richly deserved. And it was all she could do to stop herself from leaning forward and madly thrusting in her face, so intense were the feelings spiraling through her. He sensed her frustration from her moans, and didn't want her to hold back any longer. "Fuck me, gorgeous," he pulled away and whispered raggedly, drunk on the taste of her, wanting nothing more than to make her scream with pleasure.

With a moan, she complied, struggling to sit up and then move her hips downwards again, low, and lower. And she found him with her center at the same time her lips found his, tasting herself and him while she sunk down on top of him and swallowed his groan into her mouth. "Fuck, Temperance," he said shakily. "How the hell do you feel so good, every single time?"

"Because I'm not like the other girls," she responded breathlessly, moving, letting his slick length caress every part of her inside. Sighing with need, she slowly ascended, leaning back again like she had before as he made love to her with his mouth. This caused him to slide to a new position inside of her. A really good one, too. Quickly catching on to which of his movements brought the most whimpers to her lips, he responded to her the best he could while letting her ride him on her terms. Between groans of ecstasy, he wondered at how she could be so demanding and giving of a lover at the same time, and at her power to thrill him like she did. He bucked her, hard, and she held on to his thighs, fingers gripping tight enough to leave marks. And there was that face he looked for, that sound he loved to hear; she cried out, fingers contracting on him while her taut body stiffened.

He rocked her gently, making sure her pleasure was brought to its highest peak before he allowed himself to let go inside her, letting her then take her turn pulling every last good feeling out of him. And once he was so high that he could barely see anymore, she soothed him down again, dropping to his chest gasping, until their breathing synchronized and everything was clear again.

"I dare you to find anything better than that," he told her with a sigh, pushing her damp hair back so he could see her heavy-lidded eyes.

"Pretty close to perfect," she agreed, kissing him lightly before rolling to his side. Perfect. That word bothered him somehow.

Something bumped her shoulder and she looked over and laughed breathlessly. Picking up the camera, she suspended it in front of him.

"You won't let me keep them?" he asked, pretend-pouting.

"Well, I could…but I can promise you there ain't nothing like the real thing, baby," she teased, pulling back the sheet and sliding underneath them.

"True." Flicking on the power, he flipped through them, looking admiringly, then regretfully as he deleted them. "Hey Bones?"

"Yeah." Her eyes were already falling closed; she would sleep like a baby tonight, he thought, a little proudly.

"If Jared starts talking shit about me tomorrow…you'll steer the conversation back to business, right?"

Her eyes cracked open again. "You really think he'd do that?" She looked doubtful.

"I don't know. All I know is that I never want you to stop looking at me the way you do when we are done…you know."

"I'm pretty sure you don't have to worry about that," she mumbled, eyes closing again. Booth looked at her briefly before turning back to the camera.

She might never get it, he realized, looking at the last undeleted picture: the one where she posed playfully in all her sweet, sexy, silly, and unassuming glory. He loved that side of her, and the fact that she was willing to show it to him. But for all her smarts, she was still naïve when it came to family.

Switching the camera off, he put it on the nightstand, turned off the lights, and climbed under the sheets with his partner, mostly trusting in the knowledge that she would always be on his side. It was everybody else that he didn't trust so much…

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By midmorning on Thursday, Booth's uneasy were mostly forgotten. There was too much work to be done to focus on his insecurities. In fact, he nearly had forgotten all about his brother's odd lunch request. Until he came into his office around 11:30 and found Jared there, gazing at the pictures and commendations that Seeley kept framed on his wall. "Jared."

His brother turned, giving him a patented Booth family grin. "Hey bro."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Suspicion crept into his voice, although he didn't know why.

"I'm not allowed to visit my baby brother at work? See what he does with his days? And nights?"

"Well, maybe. But I thought that today, you were trying to schmooze your baby brother's partner."

"Partner?" Jared snorted. "Would hope you've moved beyond that."

Seeley felt his face redden a little. "She doesn't like to be called 'girlfriend,'" he mumbled.

"Well, that's a shame that you embarrass her."

'_Don't let him get to you, Seel. You know that just makes it worse,' _he told himself. "So did you come for something? Other than to irritate me?"

Jared looked innocent. "I'm hurt. Did you are didn't you tell me to come pick up your key so that I can help you start moving things in your new place this weekend? I figured I'd pick it up before my lunch with Temperance."

Well, now he just felt bad. "Oh…yeah. Sorry."

"No problem. I forgive you. That's what family's for." Jared laughed. "Can't wait to see the new place. You're moving up in the world"

"Yeah…we were there taking pictures and measuring the other day, getting ready. Getting pretty excited."

"I bet you are. This is your biggest achievement."

"I don't know if I'd go _that _far." He could only imagine Brennan's reaction if she found out that landing her was "an achievement."

"You're a lucky man, Seeley." Booth was about to brush it off when he caught a look that he'd never seen from him brother before. Was that…envy. Whatever the hell it was made him just a little uncomfortable.

"The key's in my locker. I'll go get it," he muttered, sort of anxious to get out of there for awhile. He left his brother in his office while he took a walk.

Wasn't this part of what he wanted, if he was honest with himself? His brother and his father had a mutual camaraderie based on respect, and Seeley had always felt left out of that. Everything he had, they already had…or they didn't want. And he felt the loss of not being part of that world, but he learned to cope, learned to appreciate the things he did and what he possessed, even without their acknowledgement or approval. Sort of. He always thought that the day he earned a nod in his direction—_true _appreciation--would be the day he felt largely complete. But if he had seen what he thought he saw on his brother's face…he opened the locker and fished for the key inside his bag, slamming the door closed a little too hard when he was done. He was overanalyzing things. It was only making him anxious. On his way back to his office, he forced himself to relax. But the sound of his brother's laughter put him up in arms.

He walked back into the office, indignant. "What the hell's so funny?" he asked, not processing the scene before him for a second.

Jared was still chuckling, with a disbelieving expression. "Shit, bro. I knew you were lucky just about now. But I didn't know you were _this _lucky." And at that moment, Seeley realized with horror exactly what was in his brother's hands. And what he was staring out. With that look on his face.

His first thought should have been about what Bones was going to think when she found out he forgot to delete one of her pictures from the camera. The cute one, with her being that _her_ that no one else saw. And that he brought it to work so that he could download the pictures of the house. And that his brother, seeing the camera so carelessly lying on his desk, got the eyeful of his life when he went to check out the photos of the rooms. He should have been worried about that. But right now, all he was worried about was erasing that image from his Jared's mind for good. "Gimme that," he snapped, trying to snatch the camera from his brother's hands. He didn't give it up easily.

"Aw, c'mon Seel, share the wealth," he said with a grin, pulling it back. "_You _certainly don't have anything to be embarrassed of. Jeez, _this _is what you go home to at night? I'd never leave."

"Jared I swear to God…"

"Damn. Relax, Seel." Jared flipped the power off, and handed the camera back to him. "Does your _partner _know about the soft porn you keep of her at work?"

He didn't know what to say, and could feel the heat rushing to his face.

Jared's grin had faded a little. "You fucked up, didn't you?" Seeley's silence gave him the answer he needed. "I'll tell ya bro, you better be careful. This isn't the kind of woman you risk losing."

Booth could read him right now. Was that concern on his face? Smugness? "I'm never gonna lose her," he muttered.

"Lose her, or have her taken away." Seeley's eyed flashed, and he looked at his brother with horror. "Settle down Seel. Don't worry. I'm not gonna tell her. Your secret's safe with me. Just be careful." Jared winked at him, and patted him on the shoulder before moving to the door. "It was great to see you. I'll tell Temperance you said hi."

Booth was left red-faced in his office, not really being able to identify what he was feeling. All he knew was that the last thing in the world he wanted was his brother spending time with one of the two people in the world that he couldn't live without.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So, I know that we can all basically die happy now that B & B have finally kissed **_**outside of a fanfic **_**(and just how **_**hot **_**was that extended version of the kiss on the website? I still have been watching daily and about die of hotness each time)**__**But I hope that you'll still get some joy out of my little fic here:-) I for one am counting on fanfic to help me make it through until January. Or else the dying thing might actually become a possibility.**

**The special-location smut here goes out to…aw heck, do I even have to say it anymore? Love ya KJ.**

**Hope you all enjoy! Let me know your thoughts…**

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Brennan glanced around the restaurant. This wasn't the type of place that she usually had lunch. This was the type of place that she had gone to on romantic dates, or before making major deals on her books. The classy décor, the soft music, the impeccably-dressed waitstaff. The wine list that was, in essence, a novel itself—apparently, she would be dining today with a bon vivant. But it was the place that Jared had chosen, so she was glad that she had dressed so professionally for work today so that she wouldn't be out-of-place here.

"Temperance." She recognized the deep voice behind her and turned with a polite smile. Jared gave her a kiss on the cheek and gestured her to follow him from the lobby into the restaurant, apparently familiar enough with the owner to have a table reserved. "Sorry I'm a little late. I had to go harass my little brother at work."

She raised her eyebrows, amused. "You two like to do that, don't you? Harass each other."

"We're brothers. That's our job." Jared grinned as he pulled out her chair for her, the Booth chivalry gene apparent. "Thanks for meeting me here. I wish you would have let my driver pick you up, though." He pulled out his own seat across from her.

"Don't mention it. I actually enjoy driving, and don't get to do it as often as I'd like." Brennan studied the man in front of her, noticing, not for the first time, the resemblance between him and her own Booth. The dark hair and eyes, the muscular build…the smile. But there were differences, too. The slightest hint of gray touched the elder Booth brother's temples, the jaw wasn't quite as strong. And despite the similarities in their smiles, Jared's seemed somehow more polished, as did his manner of speaking. "I'm just hoping I can be helpful for you today."

"I have no doubt you will be. You want a drink? They carry an excellent port here."

"Oh, no thanks. I have to go back to work after this."

"Ah, yes. The work you do when you _aren't _being a best-selling author."

She shrugged. "The forensic work…it's my life. Or was. But I still can't separate my identity from it. The writing is really just a hobby."

Jared gazed at her with his chin on his hand. "So you do you do it? Make being successful at _everything _seem so effortless?"

Her mind said, _"I think that Booth thinks the same thing about you." _But she knew better than to verbalize that thought. "Trust me, Jared. I'm not good at everything. I'm not even allowed to make breakfast at your parents' house, remember?"

"That's because you're not an ordinary woman, Temperance." His words made her remember Booth's from last night: _"You aren't like all the other girls," _he had said. The comparison made her feel uncomfortable, especially when they had been whispered to her in a most intimate moment. And, also, because of what they implied about Jared's own girlfriend, Leah. Who, despite looking meticulously put-together at ridiculous hours of the morning and baking like Julia Child, was apparently ordinary.

"So you wanted to talk about publishing?" she asked quickly, shaking off the strange feeling.

"Yes." He transitioned to the topic easily, which made her feel a little better. "This is a bit of a dream-come-true for me…I always wanted to be a writer. Of course, as a teenager, I didn't think it would be about growth investment…I wanted to write adventure stories. But this is about as close as I can get."

"You wanted to be a writer? Why didn't you pursue that, then?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Writers are a dime a dozen. I wouldn't have been nearly as assured of success as a writer as I was in business school." He seemed eager to change that topic from him _not _being a success. "In any case, it's a foray into the unknown for me, and I would very much appreciate the benefit of your expertise.

"Of course," she said, relieved, as they got their menus. "I'm happy to share the basics with you. We'll start with the process of negotiating about your manuscript. And end with the importance of keeping your editor away from fire ants."

"What?"

"You don't want to know."

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Jared Booth was no stranger to competition. His family—particularly his father—always had high standards for him. And he was pretty good at the things he did, so in the beginning it hadn't taken an enormous effort to reach those standards. Not until his brother had been born.

He gazed across the table at the forensic anthropologist and author with whom he was dining today, as she talked to him about manuscript formats and book doctors. His brother's partner. _Not _girlfriend, Seeley had told him. The woman commanded respect from everyone who knew her. Temperance Brennan was successful in every way, not to mention beautiful and classy. And, judging by the picture he had stumbled upon on Seeley's camera today, also a tiger in the bedroom.

And, not for the first time in his life, Jared felt a muted panic growing inside of him. Seeley was going to win. Without even trying.

His little brother was good at things too. And he did care about making his family proud. But, thank God, not so much that he was willing to change the path of his desires and hopes and dreams to please his father. Not to the extent that he would give up everything else in order to become his father's definition of successful. Not like Jared.

Jared had been successful in staying ahead of Seeley, and in keeping his father's favor, by not just meeting the standards but exceeding them. He had studied in school so much that some days he was practically dizzy from lack of sleep. He had practiced so hard on the football field that his body had been in a near constant state of aches and bruises. He had sacrificed having a long-term, committed relationship with a woman thus far so that he could spend nearly all his time running his business and making it as profitable as it could be. Doing those things was how he kept his edge. Every time Seeley had screwed up in his life, he had felt concern for his little brother, followed almost immediately by a stab of nearly painful relief for having a brief reprieve from working so hard to stay ahead. But he never felt safe for long.

Especially not when Seeley had brought home Temperance Brennan. That was when it all started to turn around. Their father had been resentful at Seeley having left the military to join the FBI, and had been disappointed by his gambling issues. Not to mention the scandal of having a child out of wedlock—thank God Jared had dodged _that _bullet in his lifetime. But now…Seeley was becoming more and more respected in his line of work. His gambling was apparently under control. Their parents _loved _their grandchild and seemed to mostly put aside their disapproval about the circumstances of his conception. And now…_now _Seeley was with this nearly preternaturally perfect woman (in Jared's eyes), who both challenged him _and _still looked at him like he walked on water. And now they were getting a house together? Jared was one wedding away from being dethroned as the prodigal son. And he wasn't entire sure how to handle that yet.

He thought of Leah. He liked her, he really did. She reminded him of himself in at least one way…she was so eager to please. But she didn't _challenge _him. Didn't understand the world he lived in. All the women who he had dated who did challenge him quickly became tired of his late nights at work, or were so involved in their own that they didn't need or want the kind of relationship he wanted. They didn't get him. Couldn't possibly understand why it was so important that he be successful. Jared Booth was the _best. _If he weren't the best…well, he'd have no clue who he was at all.

Cocking his head, seemingly listening intently, he studied Brennan, trying to understand what she saw in his baby brother. He wasn't well-spoken like they were. Didn't have any graduate degrees. Wasn't wealthy.

And now she was wrapping up, reminding him that they had to go back to work soon, and thanking him in advance for the help he was going to give them moving into the new house this weekend, she and Booth really appreciated it. Booth. Booth. The wrong Booth.

He stood and thanked her, as well, for meeting with him today, and for being so supportive and helpful. She turned to leave. And, on impulse, he stepped forward and grabbed her elbow before she could go. Surprised, she spun around, and her eyes grew rounder when she saw how close he was standing. She smelled like jasmine and honeysuckle.

"Is my baby brother treating you right?" Jared asked her.

Her mouth opened, and closed again, and she seemed to be thinking about how to respond to him. Finally, she spoke. "Your brother is anything but a baby, Jared. He's one of the truly great men in the world. And he's been great for me and great to me." A small smile touched her lips at the last statement. "You should be proud of him."

If only it were that easy, doc, he thought. He struggled with his conscience for a second. "Temperance…there is something you should know about Seeley."

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Jared released her elbow then, thankfully, and she took a step back, a questioning look in her eyes. When he pulled her close like that, she had the sudden crazy notion that he might kiss her. What was that look on his face?

"When I went to his office today…I saw something."

Her comfort level, which had increased while they ate and talked publishing, suddenly descended a notch, and she remembered the suddenly insecure look in her partner's eyes when he talked about his brother. These two did something to each other. For all their facades of good-natured teasing, they really did know how to push the other's buttons. Right now, she felt situated firmly between Jared's finger, and Seeley's button.

"I saw…" he hesitated.

"What did you see?" she questioned, anxious to get this over and get back to work. So much to do…"

He sighed, and finally took a step back, himself. "I saw how much you mean to him. How happy you make him. And it's obvious you feel the same way, and…that's rare. So I just wanted to say…congratulations." He smiled, that winning Booth smile, not quite so polished at this moment as when she first saw him today.

"Oh. Well…thank you." That was nice, she supposed…in a peculiar kind of way. "It's good to know you are on our side, Jared."

"Always will be." He sat back down at the table, and sipped the last of the port left in the tumbler. "It was nice meeting with you today. If there's anything I can ever do for you…don't hesitate to ask."

She thanked him ahead, and headed out through the restaurant lobby. Before exiting, she glanced back, and saw her partner's brother still sitting, seemingly contemplating his empty glass. For a second, she almost felt sad, seeing him so alone. Shrugging off the thought, she walked out into the crisp, sunshiny day—back to her normal life.

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Booth had left her a message after work, letting her know where she could find him, should she want to see him tonight. Which, depending on how her lunch with Jared went, she might not. He was as dirty on the outside now as he felt on the inside. How could he have forgotten to delete that _picture? _Dirty _and _stupid. He had made such a big deal about wanting Temperance Brennan and her body to be his own personal little secret…then he practically handed over images of her to his _brother, _of all people. He slid out from under the car, tossing the wrench back in the toolbox beside him, before noticing the long, shapely calves standing to his right. His eyes followed them up, up, until they reached the blue depths that had become so familiar to him. She must have entered silently through the house.

"You," she declared, "are a mess."

As if he didn't know that. Especially standing next to her, her shiny hair pulled back perfectly and her skin unmarked, dressed in her oh-so-professional wrap-around dress and her high-heeled shoes.

"I don't think I realized you were such a handy-man." Realizing that the one room in this house that she hadn't closely examined was the garage, she walked around the car slowly, past the space heater that he had set up buzzing in the corner. It had been serendipitous that the electricity had been turned on today.

"I'm a little bit of everything, Bones," he said, a hint of ruefulness to his voice as he ran his hands down the sides of his t-shirt, leaving grease-marks there. "I needed new suspension bushings," he mumbled. "And it's been a long time since I worked on the car myself. It relaxes me."

"Bushings?" she said doubtfully. She'd take his word for it. Brennan could change a flat tire if she had to, but all the other work she entrusted to her mechanic Burt. She trusted Burt. But Burt sure as hell didn't look like Booth when he was fixing her car. How the hell could a man make grease and dirt look _sexy?_

"How was your lunch with Jared today?" There was no use beating around the bush (bushings?). If she was going to kill him, he might as well get it over with.

She looked thoughtful. "It went fine. I think I was able to give him a lot of useful information." She paused, and Booth relaxed for a moment. "You know though…there was a second there…when I swear he was going to kiss me."

Any relaxation that had crept into his muscles was obliterated in an instant. _"What?" _he choked out.

"I really thought so. It was a strange moment." She saw her partner's face redden while his knuckles simultaneously turned white from being clenched so hard. "Oh, settle down, Booth. Nothing happened. It was just a thought I had."

"Settle down? _Settle down? _I swear to God if that bastard even _thought _about touching you…" He was pacing now, his hand running through his hair, making it spike.

"Stop. He doesn't want me."

"How do you know that Bones? It's not enough for him to have everything else. Everything I have something good in my life, he wants it, but better. Of _course _he wants you. Who the hell wouldn't want you? Fuck. I can't believe this."

"Would you just listen to me? What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me is that he _saw your fucking picture." _She started a little at that, her eyebrows raised, not quite getting it. "I forgot to delete one, okay, Bones? I was a dumbass. And I took the camera to work and he found it and he saw it. Saw _you. _The one thing that was private to me…I fucked up and he saw it. And I'm sorry. And I know you probably want to kill me, but right now I want to kill _him _for even thinking about you…"

"_BOOTH." _She said it loudly enough this time that it echoed a bit, and stopped him mid-rant, staring at her. "He doesn't want to be with me. He just wants to be _you."_

Booth was looking at her like she was speaking a foreign language

"Which is even stranger to me, but I'm pretty sure that's the way it is. You two are so ridiculously jealous of each other, for one reason or another, that you can't even _see. _Even _I _can see, and I really don't see things much of the time." Her exasperation was apparent as she crossed her arms, but he was now in a stunned silence. She cocked her head to one side. "You forgot to delete one of the _pictures? _That's…unfortunate."

His mind was reeling right now. The pictures…Jared, wanting Bones…Jared, wanting his _life…_Bones, probably hating him right now…him, hating _her _a little bit right now for being so damn desirable that he just _had _to take pictures like that… He chose one route. "Why would Jared want to be me? He's the golden child. He's the one that gets all the pats on the head from Mom and Dad, who lives this perfect, successful life…"

"And you are the one who does what the hell you want regardless of mom and dad's approval. Do you realize how freeing that is? Think about it, Booth. Who wants to write books on growth investment? Nobody _wants _to do that. Did you know that Jared wanted to write adventure books? But he didn't. And I'll bet I can guess why."

Booth chuckled dryly. "Mom 'n Dad would have _hated_ that career choice."

"Exactly." She rolled her eyes. "You're the one who lives based on your own values and beliefs…not on the expectations of others. You might not be getting the metaphorical pats on the head…but you are _happy." _Pausing, she glanced at him, a little shocked that _she _was the one giving her partner insight about his family and his life. Did she even know what the hell she was talking about? She hadn't even had a family in her life until recently. Suddenly, seeing his stare, she felt a little disarmed. So she changed the topic. "Our pictures, Booth?"

"Just _one." _He sighed. "I'm surprised he didn't tell you."

Brennan remembered Jared's impulsive grabbing of her, followed by the seemingly out-of-place encomium regarding his brother. "Maybe he was thinking about it. I don't know. But…I'm pretty sure…he cares about you, Booth. Doesn't want to hurt you."

Booth was a little befuddled by the ease with which his partner was being distracted from something that he had been fairly certain would be cause for him sleeping alone tonight. "Fuck Jared. Are you mad at me?"

"Mad? I don't know. Do I think you need to be taught a lesson in discretion? Maybe." A small smile played at her lips.

Damn, she never ceased to amaze him. "I thought you'd be pissed. _I'm _pissed. At myself."

She shrugged. "It's not like you did it on purpose, Booth. I know that. Besides…your brother, seeing me in my underwear? It's not like that affects me professionally in any way. I think that, given our attitudes on topic, it's more a punishment to you than to me." That was for damn sure. He was still practically _seething. _"Nonetheless…you really _do _need to be more careful." She took a step towards him, and his eyes became bigger.

"I shouldn't even be allowed to touch you right now, Bones. I was so stupid. Not to mention the fact that I'm a mess. Like you pointed out." He said the words, but seeing her there, looking far too perfect and most likely being the object of his brother's fantasies tonight, made him want to do more than touch her. He wanted to _brand _her with himself.

"Do I look concerned about getting a little dirty? Besides. This isn't about you." With a coy look, she pushed her way up until she was sitting on the hood of his Tahoe, the smell of grease and oil and gasoline and just a hint of his spicy cologne filling her nostrils. One side of her wraparound dress fell over her knee, and she saw him staring, mesmerized by the creaminess of the skin that it exposed. "Touch me now," she demanded in a whisper.

"Temperance…"

"_Now." _She didn't leave room for argument. His trembling fingertips went to the side of her knees, trailed experimentally upwards. They both watched the inky smudges he left behind stand in stark contrast to her alabaster skin. Her breathing hitched, and he looked up into her eyes, surprised. She liked this…his marking her like this. Her eyes were challenging against his…_'Make it up to me,' _they told him. _'You gave away that private moment to your brother. Now make me yours again.'_

Growling at his own internal interpretation, he became bolder, pawing a little more roughly at her thighs and spreading them so that she would wrap her legs around him. She took hold of his leather jacket and pulled his smudged face to hers, crushing their lips together. Leaving behind any notion of keeping her clean, he grabbed at her hips, leaning hard against the fender of the car and grinding his growing erection against her middle while his tongue went to work on hers. In his groping, he found the sash that held her dress in place. She wouldn't be needing _that. _Yanking hard, he tossed it aside. His large hands nearly spanned the entire width of her tiny waist while he buried his face between her breasts. Impatiently, she pushed his head away in order to unhook her bra. "Fuck," he groaned as she laid back on the hood and spread herself out for him, a sea of untouched flesh, just begging to be made dirty. Eager himself, he reached for his belt and…

"I don't think so." She had seen the motion and sat up slightly to grab his hands. "Not about you, remember?" she reminded, winking pertly as she positioned his hands at the place that _she _wanted them. The material of his jeans was rasping against her panties, making her writhe, and her back arched against the cool metal at the feeling of him touching her breasts, leaving fingerprints against her swollen nipples. "Harder," she demanded, and he squeezed. _"Harder." _Waves of hot pleasure arose from her, and she would have felt bad about being so selfish if she hadn't known that he needed this as much as she did. Seeley Booth wanted redemption today, and she was going to give it to him and enjoy every second of it. He was lapping at her throat, seemingly the only part of her that wasn't stained now, and her fingers clutched at his oily hair, serving as a living and breathing anodyne for his jealousy and anger and confusion. Holding his hair, she pushed him. Down. Further. There was at least one other part of her still clean enough to put his mouth on.

Cock throbbing painfully in his pants, he accepted the discomfort as his retribution. He took his satisfaction from that fact that those were _his _fingerprints on her. It was his name that was hissed from her lips when he pressed his face against her. And it was his tongue and lips and teeth that were pulling those gasps and moans and groans from her throat while he expertly manipulated her clit in the ways he had come to know that she loved, occasionally taking a break to nibble at her inner thighs or thrust his tongue inside of her, _hard, _just like she was insisting on over the rattling of the heater in the corner. Yes…yes, his brother _should _be jealous, he thought, overtop the sound of the blood rushing through his head right now. And not just because it was he who was the recipient of this most tasty of treats right now. But Temperance was right. He was _happy, _dammit. And he poured every ounce of gratitude he had for her making him see that into his erotic kiss. And when she cried out, fingernails of one hand scraping lightly against the paint of his Tahoe while the others tugged on his hair (as if he'd even consider pulling back from her now), he felt his atonement completed. He'd made her happy, as well, and the satisfaction of that coursed through him and was nearly as much a relief as a climax of his own. Nearly.

He kept his mouth on her until she became almost painfully sensitive, and she pulled his head from her with a gasp. They regarded each other with darkened eyes. Looking down over her own body, she noted just how thoroughly he had taken her, and marveled at how just a few hours ago she had been in that classy, pristine restaurant. But as she and Booth both knew—and his brother Jared was apparently just learning—was that real life was rarely so polished.

"Lesson learned?" she breathed, and he nodded slowly. The car wasn't the only thing that had been fixed here today. Taking her hand, he pulled her up to a sitting position slowly, bringing her face, now as smudged as his, to his own for a kiss. "The water on at this place yet?" she asked, smiling wickedly.

For the first time that night, he grinned. Yes, and there was another benefit to getting a little dirty now and then. Sometimes it could be _so much fun _to clean up. And in that moment, he felt sorry for his brother, who tried so hard to stay out of the mud that he never really got to experience this. He lifted his lover, carrying her through the entryway into the house and towards the waiting shower. Relishing in their imperfections and how well those notches fit together.

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**A/N: Have I mentioned lately that reviews are my life force? Please keep me alive. Please!!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**DON'T HATE ME, PLEASE! Soooo sorry for the length of time between updates on this; have been incredibly busy with work and the holidays, and also have been wrestling with a case of what appeared to be (gasp) writer's block. For all intents and purposes, I believe I am over that now. Was sort of like a bad flu. But I would never, ever abandon all you beautiful people. I'm here for ya, babes.**

**Your thoughts and words of encouragement are always loved and kissed repeatedly. My computer screen is basically a big old mess of lip-prints. So thanks for that;) **

**The fun with boxes is for my bff KJ and for my box-making future husband, although God willing he will never read this. **

**Without further adieu…**

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Angela Montenegro's flamboyant personality was occasionally a cause of embarrassment for her more low-key friends, but she liked to consider herself a sensitive and thoughtful person most of the time. Which is why she volunteered her and her fiance's services to help her good friend move into their new house this weekend. And, after seeing the hesitancy in said friend's eyes at the offer, she knew how important it was going to be to tone down her excitement at this milestone in Brennan's life. This is what she told her fiancé Jack Hodgins, who looked at her doubtfully.

"Babe. Booth and Dr. Brennan have been together as a couple for the better part of a year now. They have vacationed together, gone on family outings with his son. They are practically living together already, and I'm fairly certain that they've done the nasty in this museum more places and times than we have."

"I _knooooow," _Angela drew out. "Bust just because they are a couple doesn't mean we have to lay on thick all the coupley-type stuff. We have to make this transition as comfortable as possible for them."

"Is living in sin supposed to be comfortable?" Jack asked with a grin.

"_Yes," _his fiancée replied, shoving him lightly. "They deserve to have something go easy for them. So don't try to embarrass Booth. No matter how much you think he deserves it for giving _you _a hard time."

And Jack had agreed, and Angela was happy. Until she met Jared Booth. At that point, it became exceedingly difficult to keep her mouth shut. His slick smile bothered her, as did his subtle jabs at his younger brother. And his appreciative glances at her best friend, Temperance Brennan? It put her in instant protective mode.

"You know," she said, as she held the other end of a couch she and Jared were currently lugging into the house, "Booth has totally changed the way we work in the lab at the Jeffersonian. It's like we have a new sense of purpose now."

"Uh-huh," Jared grunted, lifting the end of the sofa up over the small step into the house. He wasn't listening to her.

"And Brennan…she has benefited so much from working with Booth. Sees things in a completely different way. They are _so good _for each other." She was letting Jared take the brunt of the weight of the couch so she could talk.

"Yeah. I bet she has."

She frowned, unable to tell whether or not he was being a smartass or was simply too overburdened by the couch to respond in socially acceptable ways. "Benefited professionally, personally, emotionally…we always knew that they belonged together. It was just meant to b-…."

"Babe. Why don't you let me help Jared with that, and you go out and grab some of those other boxes?" Jack swooped in and took the largely unattended part of the couch out of Angela's hands. Jared sighed in relief, while Angela narrowed her eyes for a second at the intrusion, before realizing she was doing exactly what she had told Jack _not _to do.

"Fine." She stalked out towards the moving van, and met up with Brennan on a similar return-trip along the way. "Sweetie," she hissed, taking hold of her arm and pulling her aside briefly. "Are you trying to tell me that guy came from the same parents as _our _resident federal sweetie Booth?"

"Ange, stop it," Brennan whispered back. "Jared's not that bad. He just has different priorities than our Booth."

"Yeah. Priority one, emasculate his brother. Priority two, tap your ass."

"Oh my God, Angela." Brennan's hand came and landed on her friend's mouth. "Don't you let Booth hear you talk like that. I'm trying to help him get over his insecurities about his brother." She tilted her head to one side. "What exactly does it mean to tap one's ass? That sounds awful."

"Go ask Booth," Angela replied, rolling her eyes and giving her a slight shove towards the door. Nonplussed, Brennan moved away towards the van, ignoring her friend's sigh. Brennan had grown so much, and in so many ways in the past few years. But in many other important ways, she would always be her slightly clueless counterpart. And she loved her for it, for all it frustrated her.

Before Brennan could exit the house, she found herself being pulled and spun into what was going to become her new kitchen. _Their _new kitchen.

"Booth," she laughed, briefly pretending to fight off his kiss before submitting and returning his embrace. "This isn't expediting the moving process."

"Oh well," he shrugged, running one hand up under her shirt in the back. "It's making the process more enjoyable. That counts for something, right?" In truth, as much as he could do without the annoyances of moving, very few things could undermine his good mood today. Today, he was finally going to share a home with the woman he loved. He was on top of the fucking world. He even managed to respond with good-natured humor to his brother's teasing, and forgive him for happening upon the misplaced peep show at Booth's office. None of it really mattered. Not when he got to wake every morning to Bones' sugar-sweet kisses…just like the one she was bestowing on him right now that made him feel a little like backing her up against the counter and pulling her tee-shirt off…

"Okay, kids. Lots more work to be done. You can play all you want when you are done. And you'll have a whole house to do it in." They looked just a little guiltily over their shoulder at Jack, who gave them an impatient clap to get them moving.

"Sorry, man. Just got a little excited about the move."

"I can see that." Hodgins' voice was exasperated, but he had a smile on his face as he left the room, and Booth knew that he was on their side. He grinned at his partner, who looked only a little flustered about being caught acting decidedly unprofessional with her new roommate.

"You okay with all this?"

Her face was brave. "Yes," she replied decisively. "We've been together for almost a year now. It's a completely logical and practical next step to cohabitate at this point. There's no reason to feel uncomfortable about that decision."

He winked at her and gave her a quick squeeze around her shoulder, proud of her. It had taken a lot of time for her to become comfortable with the concept of Booth and Brennan as a unit, in their own eyes and those of the world. But he was getting the distinct impression that lately, she was entirely unapologetic about their relationship. And he loved to see it.

On his way out to the van, he ran into his brother. "You slacking, bro?" Jared said, punching him lightly on the arm.

"Nope," Seeley replied breezily. "Showing my appreciation to Temperance Brennan is a full-time job." He looked at Jared as if challenging him to say something remotely derogatory about him, his relationship, or anything else in his world. Having told Brennan about his accidental slip with her pictures, he felt much more confident, not having a secret hanging over his head. Jared couldn't touch him, touch _them. _

To his surprise, Jared merely chuckled and walked to get another load from the van. "Where does this one go?" he asked, lifting a particularly heavy box. Booth looked over his shoulder.

"Take that one up to the bedroom. And be careful with it. It's fragile."

Jared muttered to himself as he carried the cardboard box up the stairs to the master bedroom. He should really be working today. Or spending time with Leah. This being a good brother thing was a big pain in his ass. But still, something he felt compelled to _try _to do. Resisting the urge to simply toss the box down on the floor, he bent over and set it down gently. Turning to go, he realized he wasn't quite ready yet to face his brother, who had been walking around all day with that self-assured smile on his face, and his friends, who had apparently been programmed to remind Jared just how great his brother had it. Stalling, he ripped the packing tape off of the box that he had carried. Finding a mass of bubble wrap there, he picked up one item and carefully pulled the plastic away, piece by piece. A picture frame. What was with him finding all these damned pictures lately? At least in this one, everyone was _dressed. _Seeley and Temperance, dressed to the nines, sitting together against the backdrop of a sparkling ocean and sailing ships. And both of them were fucking _glowing. _Disgusting.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" He nearly dropped the picture in surprise at the sound of the voice, but he recovered quickly at the sight of Seeley and Brennan's feisty dark-haired friend in the doorway. Angela, right? The artist. The one who seemed the most intent on rubbing in just how close Seeley was to being crowned prodigal son. He laid the picture back in the box.

"Precious," he replied dryly, and he had enough insight to be appropriately embarrassed by the bitterness he heard in his own voice. Angela sat down the box she had been carrying, and he hoped she would turn and leave just as quickly as she had appeared. Instead, she wandered over and picked up the picture that he had laid down, and looked at it with a small smile on her face.

"I'm not sure if you realized this or not…you're not around these two every day like we are…just how long it took them to find each other. Find each other, and _recognize _exactly what it was they had. In some ways, it was really painful to watch them fumble around with their feelings for so long. But when they found it…wow." Suddenly, the smile on her face was replaced by a much more deadly serious expression, and she met Jared's eyes squarely. "If anyone were to mess with that…try to undermine their happiness…well, I just might be inclined to kill that person."

He nearly laughed at her hyperbole, but the chuckle was cut short when he saw not a hint of humor in Angela's eyes. "Can't imagine anyone would make a purposeful effort to hurt Seeley and Temperance."

"It's hard to tell. There are lots of selfish people in the world. People that can't stand others being happy, when it's not _them." _For another moment, the artist's gaze remained nearly intolerably intense. Then, suddenly, her pretty, sweet smile of earlier returned. "It's a good thing they have people like us to look out for them, right? So that they can have their happily ever after."

Jared prided himself on his smoothness, but right now he was a bit disconcerted by Angela's bipolar line of questioning. "Think they are pretty good at looking out for themselves. But yes. We all need friends."

"Very true," Angela agreed. She laid the picture down again. "Guess we better get back to work, huh? This stuff's not going to move itself." Cheerfully, she waltzed towards the door. "Catch you at the van."

Jared Booth wasn't a betting man. Especially not after his little brother's run-in with Gamblers Anonymous. No way was he going to fall in _that _trap. But watching Angela's departure, he had something that felt suspiciously like a premonition. Things didn't go as smoothly for people as Ange was insisting on. Whether they deserved it or not. Life had a habit of getting in the way. Jared frowned at his sense of foreboding, and wondered if it was born of irritation arising from the implied threat in Angela's words. He had made a decision awhile back that whatever fate laid ahead for his little brother and his perfect girlfriend, _he _was not going to have any hand in. But if he were a betting man…well, he would bet on a storm before the calm.

Shaking off the thought, he abandoned the room, wondering that if he were wrong, just how the _hell _he was going to beat happily ever after?

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It had been a long time since Brennan had undertaken such a comprehensive move, and it was amazing to her how in the process, so many things that were lost became found again. Sitting on the floor with Booth this evening, amidst piles of what seemed like a whole year's work at a packaging plant, she delighted in artifacts that she had previously packed away, not having room at her apartment to display. While they sat comfortable in their nightclothes, the crackling fireplace provided a gentle glow for their explorations. "Look at this!" she exclaimed to Booth, who was busy unearthing his own items. "I had forgotten about this sculpture. Isn't it _beautiful?"_

Booth glanced over at the object in her hands. "Yes. Gorgeous. Just one question. What the hell _is _it?"

She rolled her eyes at him and thrust out the figurine for him to see. "It's a depiction of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of fertility, love, and warfare. You can tell because she is standing on the backs of lionesses, representing the inherent strength and power of women."

He raised an eyebrow. "Love _and _warfare? Those Sumerians had a sense of irony, didn't they."

Brennan pulled the statue back to her and ran her fingers over the smooth jade surfaces, while grinning at her partner. "Fine line between love and rage, Booth. Even ancient Sumerians knew _that."_

Grinning, he returned to his task. "Well, as much as I'd _love _to have all of your culturally-rich artifacts displayed prominently around our house…I'd recommend that you lock them away if they mean anything to you."

"Why?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"Because, Bones, we'll be having a six-year-old staying with us on a semi-regular basis. And as great as Parker is, he can't tell the difference between Inanna there and his G.I. Joe."

Brennan frowned. "G.I. Joe doesn't have breasts."

"Well, I wasn't going to point out the vaguely pornographic quality of your statue, there, but that's another reason why it's not exactly child-appropriate." Seeing her sad sigh, he reached over and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry, Bones. Parker will be a big kid before we know it, and then you can put out all the bizarre memorabilia you want. At least in your office. The side room is reserved for my Steeler's stuff."

Giving him a look, she reluctantly re-wrapped Inanna and placed her gently back in the box, before standing and stretching. "We going to set up the bed tonight?"

"God, no," he yawned. "We've done enough today—let's just relax. Let's find the sleeping bags and we can stay down here tonight. Besides, I'm kind of digging the fire. Always wanted a fireplace, and now we have one."

Laughing, she pulled herself into a standing position. "We finally have a house of our own, and you want to camp out in the living room like squatters."

"You got a problem with that?" But she obviously didn't, as she was floating around the room poking at bags, trying to find the sleeping bags. He watched her interestedly, finding it irresistible to give her bottom a pinch when she bent over in front of him. She jumped and looked at him indignantly.

"Well excuse me, Agent Booth. I didn't realize that moving in together gave you permission to squeeze my ass whenever you felt like it."

"You should have read the lease more carefully."

"In _that _case…" She abandoned her search for the sleeping bags and reached down for him, looking for her own handful in this game of grab-ass. Laughing, he backed away from her, stood, and leaped over the box next to him, trying to get away.

"The lease doesn't say that the privilege is reciprocal."

"So _you _say." She leapt after him and engaged in a fairly dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, considering all the boxes on the floor, both full and empty. Neither could stop giggling maniacally. She cornered him. "Your ass is _mine, _Seeley Booth." He made a move to dart past her, but she caught his arm, throwing him off-balance. After teetering precariously, he tipped over, pulling a squealing Brennan with him and landing ass-first in box that was thankfully filled only with packing peanuts. With her on top, he easily held onto her bottom by both cheeks, and her brief struggle became much more effective when she suddenly pushed her lips onto his, kissing the smile off his face and taking advantage of his surprise, snaking her tongue around his through the "O" of his mouth and rubbing against him sensually.

He quickly forgot about the game while he kissed her, never tiring of her taste, or her smell, or the feeling of her perfectly smooth skin brushing against his own. When she pulled back, she smiling in satisfaction at the dazed look on his face. "Get me out of here, Bones."

"Why?" she replied innocently, with another quick kiss. Pausing for a second, he then burst out in laughter. "What?" Confused, now.

"I will not do you in a box. I will not…" Cracking up. "I will not do you with a fox…" The thoroughly perplexed look on her face only made him guffaw louder.

"You are a _strange _man." She struggled to her feet, holding her hand out to him. He stood as well, brushing the Styrofoam pieces from his pants.

"Dr. Suess is a part of Americana, Bones. We'll read him the next time Parker comes over."

"You won't let Parker see my Inanna statue, but you'll read him a story about doing it in a box?"

"Well, I took some creative liberties with the words." His laughter still running its course, he pulled her towards him, taking hold of her ass much more gently this time as he showered adoring kisses on her face. "Thank you," he whispered through his smile.

"Did I do something?"

"Thank you for just being _you. _God. It just wouldn't be the same with anyone else, ya know, Bones?"

"You got that right." Her leg nudged something on the floor. She looked down and pressed her toe against it. "Hey, look here." Kneeling, she pulled open the tie of the bag she had been pushed up against. "It's the sleeping bags!"

"Hey, nice find!" Cheerfully, he pulled out the yards of material of the bag, and tossed it on the empty spot on the floor in front of the fireplace. "Our sleeping quarters await."

She looked at him witheringly. "I don't get my own?"

"You want your _own? _What do you think this is, the Ritz?"

Her stomach was starting to hurt from laughing too much. "You just don't stop, do you?"

"And I never will, baby." With a squeeze of her hand, he darted away and into the sleeping bag. "Come in here."

Sighing dramatically, she fell down beside him, trying to insinuate her way into the bag. "It's not big enough."

"You just broke my heart, Bones. Never say those words to me again." Grinning, he adjusted himself. "You'll just have to lay on top of me, then."

"Who'd want to lay on top of _you?" _she asked, at the same time belying her words by doing just what he suggested. Ignoring her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her head to rest in that perfectly comfortable (and not just a little tasty) spot between his shoulder and his neck. Finally abandoning her façade of indifference, she snuggled into him deeply, enjoying the warmth of his body and the fire in the dimly lit room. "This can't be comfortable for you."

"You kidding me? I'm never more comfortable than I am with you on top of me."

"Your back's going to hurt in the morning."

"I don't care." He kissed the top of her head. "Because guess what?" He tucked his head under to whisper into her ear secretively. _"We have a house together."_

She was about to say something smart in return, but was momentarily stunned by the truth of his words. He was right. She now officially shared more with this man than she ever had with anyone else in her life. And damn if it didn't feel good. With the same suddenness as she had when they had tumbled into the box earlier, she kissed him, passionately and lingeringly, until his breathing quickened against her mouth.

"What was that for?" he asked her when she finally pulled back a little.

Her fingers traced his cheeks and his lips. She shrugged. "For being the sexy-as-hell man that I love, I guess."

She could have sworn that she heard him moan a little. "You have any idea how good those words sound coming from your pretty mouth?"

Grinning wickedly, she replied, "My mouth's good for other things, too, you know."

"That's it," he declared. "Take off your clothes." He struggled to pull her top over her head while she giggled.

"Anxious to inaugurate this place, are you?" She wiggled her arms up out of the cocoon that they were in to help him.

"I shouldn't have to remind you that we already did."

"But that was different. It wasn't ours yet."

He had her shirt half-off, but he paused with it halfway over her head, leaving her temporarily blinded until she fought her way out of it herself. "Am I hearing what I think I'm hearing? Temperance Brennan being _sentimental?"_

"_No," _she scoffed, now working her hands under his own shirt, scratching gently at skin in her quest for his nakedness. "Just call it…_territorial." _He raised his eyebrows at that one, too. "Well, I learned from the best."

Becoming frustrated with his inability to access her breasts from their current position, Booth twisted and lowered her to her side, so that he was spooning her inside the sleeping bag. He murmured his satisfaction when his roving hands were finally able to sweep over the front of her body, lovingly cupping her breasts and running his middle fingers over her nipples. Reacting instantly, she arched her hips backwards, pressing against his growing erection with the little ass he had been so insistently groping earlier. As he touched her here, wrapped up tightly by the crackling fire in their new place, teasing one another in the ways he had come to love, he was filled with a nearly overwhelming sense of satisfaction. This was the way it was supposed to be. They had made it. There were parts that had been challenging and frightening and damn near heartbreaking. But now, there was nothing stopping them. Because he couldn't find anymore kidding words, he said honest ones. "I love you." While one of his hands drifted down her stomach and under the waistband of her pants, caressing the short auburn curls he found there. She trembled, just like he knew she would.

"You've already got me into bed. The 'I love yous' are unnecessary, you know," she teased, her voice a little shaky now.

"Unnecessary as the rest of our clothes?"

"Nothing is unnecessary as them."

The sleeping bag restricting their movements, they helped one another undress, luxuriating in how good it felt to be naked together here, warm and safe. He kissed her shoulders, stroked her back, testing her readiness for him by slipping a finger over her sensitive flesh and, with her bucking in invitation, inside of her, stroking her until she was severely testing the limits of their space with her frantic movements. He teased her this way until his cock became insanely jealous of his finger, and her begging became irresistible. Sliding inside her with a sigh, he moved slowly. "Please. Faster, Seeley." Her whimpering was a ruse, he knew; she could very well tolerate it slow and soft, and her supplications were simply a mark of impatience. He brought a finger to her mouth to hush her, and she promptly sucked it into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it before taking it deeply.

"You know, that would make a lesser man explode," he whispered through gritted teeth, praying that he wouldn't turn into one of those lesser men in the next few minutes. "But if you think I'm not going to pump you slow like this until you come at least once, you're gravely mistaken." She moaned around his finger, and he knew he was giving her exactly what she wanted and needed right now. Slipping that finger from her mouth and down her body, he touched her pleasure center in time with his thrusts until she began shuddering and sighing his name. There was his girl. He carefully brought her to climax with his slow motions and his whispered words of encouragement in her ear. Sighing in relief as her body milked him, he pumped her faster, faster, giving into their baser instincts and their overwhelming desire for one another. When she came that second time, he went with her, needing to share the experience this time, needing her cries to mingle with his own.

They fell asleep shortly afterwards, sated, secure in one another's arms. His last words to her before falling asleep were "This is it, Bones. Nothing can touch us now." She murmured her agreement before drifting into her own dreams.

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"So. You survived." Brennan hadn't seen her friend for most of the day, as she had been so immersed in her work. Her interest in Sumer renewed after her discovery of Inanna, she remembered some bones that had in storage from the Akkadian dynasty, and had set about piecing them together. Currently, she planned to finish her documentation and head home. _Home. _She really had a home. But first, she had to deal with being accosted by Angela. "Did you enjoy your first night living in sin?"

"It was fine, Ange." The artist raised her eyebrows. "Okay, more than fine. Fantastic. Fabulous. Blew my mind."

Angela was laughing. "That's better."

"We still have a _lot _more work to do, though. I'm going to leave here shortly."

"Lots of work, this ass-tapping business is, isn't it?" Nothing could ever be innocent unpacking with her best friend.

"I think the phrase 'ass-tapping' is my cue to go pick up the things I just printed out," Brennan replied, heading toward the door just as the phone in her office rang. "Can you get that, Ange? I'll be back in a minute."

"Sure thing, Sweetie." As she picked up the phone, she muttered to herself, "Moving, putting nosy brothers in their place, secretarial duty….is there anything I don't do for this girl?" Finally, the receiver reached her ear. "Temperance Brennan's office."

"Hello, who is this?"

The voice sounded vaguely familiar. "This is Angela Montenegro. Who is this?"

"Angela, this is Jared Booth. Put Temperance on the phone."

Well, it was one thing to be ordered around by her best friend, and another to be by _this _tool. She sighed. Apparently, her subtle "stay the hell away from my friends" speech didn't get through to him. "I don't know, Jared. Are you sure this is important?"

"Yes." He didn't elaborate.

"Dr. Brennan is a very busy woman, you know. If you need something, it's probably better to go through Booth…."

"Angela," he interrupted. "Put Temperance on the _goddamn phone." _

She stopped short, for the first time, hearing the raw anguish in his voice. Without covering the mouthpiece of the phone, she yelled for her friend. _"BRENNAN." _She turned her attention back to Jared. "Jared, what's going on? What's happening? What's _wrong?"_

Brennan came sauntering back into the room, looking over the papers she picked up from the printer. "Jeez, Ange, I have eardrums, you know. Who is it?" She looked at Angela questioningly.

"Jared?" Angela asked again, desperately. Brennan cocked her head in confusion.

"It's Seeley, Angela. He's been in an accident."

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**A/N: Well now that you just **_**stopped **_**hating me, you started again. Drats. Any concern over potential future angst can be directed towards…um…other people. deflection-face**

**If it makes you feel better….I love you! And promise to do everything it takes for you not to have to wait months and months for the next. So. There's that:)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Somebody told me that y'all love angst. Like, even when you hate it, you love it. I'm not sure whether or not to believe it, but I **_**do **_**believe that the highs are a lot sweeter when you have a few lows. Soooooo….just stay with me, k? **

**A moment to thank those who have been acting as my sounding board: Kinsey Jo, Goldpiece, Bella-mi-amore…writing is so much fun when I have y'all to talk about it with. Many kisses to you.**

**And hugs to my faithful readers and reviewers—to quote an old sappy song, you're the inspiration. There's a concept in this story that I got from one of you. For the life of me I can't remember who, and I couldn't find your PM in my inbox. If you are reading this, and thinking "Hey, that was my idea!" pleeeeeaaaase remind me, and I shall give you the credit you so richly deserve.**

**Loves!**

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Dissociation. In his Ranger training, he was told that one should usually fight it. It was very important to notice details, to stay alert, even when things started to get mighty unpleasant. But then, there were the other times. When one was being tortured, for example. Bones breaking, punch-taking, skin-splitting, lungs-burning—it wasn't helpful to stay in the moment and fight dissociation at those times. So when things got unbearable, intolerable, he didn't fight it. He looked for another place to be. That's what he did at this moment to get away from the ache that seemed to have taken over his entire being.

Where to go? Maybe—a lake. Yes, he could see it. When he was young, his father took him and Jared to the most beautiful lake to fish. Rippling blue-green water, calm, peaceful, the sound of trees gently blowing and birds chirping and dragonflies buzzing. He relaxed, let go, floating—on a raft? Yes, a raft in the middle of the water with the sunlight beating down on his bare chest and his fingers trailing in the water.

"Daddy."

He opened one eye and saw the small boat beside him, his son leaning over the edge. He smiled. "Hey, Park."

"What are you doing?"

"Just maxin' and relaxin'." Parker giggled. "Where's Bones?"

"Right _here," _the little boy said, as if exasperated, and when Booth looked again he saw that Parker was right—Bones was right there behind his son, her hand on his shoulder. How could he have missed her? He gave them both his winningest grin.

"Why don't you come out and join me? This water is a_mazing," _he said, in his most persuasive voice.

Bones gave him the smirk that he had once found irritating, but that he had come to find so sweet. "Sorry, Booth, but you're on your own out there for now. We've got to stay on solid ground—it's safer here."

"Yeah, Dad. Sorry," his son piped up. He smiled at the image of his partner and his little boy, putting the beauty of nature's backdrop to shame.

"Well, fine, then. Spoilsports," he replied jokingly, paddling lightly at the warm water and closing his eyes again. "I'm gonna stay out here for awhile. It feels so good…"

"Alright, Booth. Just don't stay too long. Or float too far away."

Listen to his Bones, being the protective one. "Don't you worry about me, babe. I'm not going anywhere." He said it definitively. But when he opened an eye to wink at her, he noticed that the raft had already drifted several yards from the boat. He frowned. That was fast. But he was feeling just so incredibly relaxed, and as long as he could still see Parker and Bones, he knew he'd still be alright. More and more relaxed, every second he was out here…just a little while longer, he told himself. He let his eyes slip shut again, and the raft drifted just a little further away.

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Dissociation, she told herself. It had to be the reason she didn't remember how she responded to Jared once she took the phone from Angela, or leaving the Jeffersonian, or the entire ride to the hospital. When she thought about it later, she didn't remember any of it.

The surreal bustling of the hospital pulled her back around a little bit. It was a house of science. Yes, she could function here. Surely she'd begin to understand what was happening.

And then there was Jared, taking her by the arms, trying to explain. She heard words…fractures, trauma, concussion, unconscious, critical condition…and her mind, which was usually so adept at putting things together just didn't seem to be functioning correctly just now, wasn't seeing the pieces for the gestalt. A high-speed chase…a car crash…Booth never wore his seatbelt. She never mentioned it, figured that was his own prerogative, even as he often took lengthy minutes making sure Parker was secure in his car seat. No seat belt meant nothing stopping him from flying through the windshield on impact, the airbag useless against the massive blow. And now Booth, _her _Booth, who always emerged from the most dangerous cases mostly unscathed, smiling, telling her he had been hurt worse and nursing whatever wounds he had in private…now he lay in a hospital bed, clinging to life, without her, without _anybody_, for…how long?

She must have verbalized that last thought, because Jared told her and his answer reverberated in her mind. Two hours. He had been here for _two hours. _While she was at work thinking about her goddam bones, Booth was here, his broken. When had they gotten that call? No more than a half-hour ago. Out of everything, her mind chose to focus on that one, unbelievable fact.

Her voice was hollow. "Why wasn't I called?" Angela took her hand and she didn't feel it.

"I did call you, Temperance. You wouldn't be here if I didn't."

But _why? _She and Booth were together. They were partners. They _lived _together now, dammit. He was her….he was her…

"I'm his family," Jared told her. "The hospital called Mom and Dad first…they're Seeley's emergency contacts, and they're in vacation in Aruba right now. They're trying to find a plane back as we speak. So they called me, gave me de facto power-of-attorney until they arrive. I've been talking to the doctors, trying to figure things out. I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier, but there was nothing you could do here anyway."

Her cloudy, shocked eyes muddled through space until they connected with his. "I should have been here the whole time, Jared. You know that. The whole time," she whispered. He looked like he was about to respond, when a white-coated figure walked into the lobby.

"Mr. Booth? If you don't mind coming with us, we have some information about your brother's condition."

Booth's doctor. Must be. Brennan floated over to him, her eyes pleading. "How is he? Is he stabilizing? Is he going to be okay?"

The doctor's eyes flickered over to Jared. "Is this Agent Booth's wife?"

Jared shook his head. "No, he's unmarried."

"I'm his partner," Brennan told him. She had said the words hundreds, thousands of times before, and between her and Booth, they conveyed everything, a million and one things they were to one another. Seeing the confused look of the doctor, she knew the words meant nothing to him. "We work together. We live together."

"I'm sorry Ms…"

"Brennan," Angela spoke up, stepping in. "Dr. Brennan."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Brennan. I understand you are concerned about your…partner. But in order to disclose information about his condition or give you access to the patient, you need to have biological or legal ties to that person."

"Legal…" The doctor might as well have been speaking a foreign language. One that Brennan _didn't _speak herself. "You can't be saying…"

Jared interrupted her. "Temperance, I'll keep you apprised of what's happening. I need to go talk to Dr. Georges now."

Brennan's desperate near-lunge at Jared and the doctor was thwarted by Angela, who held her back. "Sweetie, don't."

"Ange, did you hear what they said? That can't be right. It's not fair…"

"It's not fair. But Jared's right. God, I can't believe I'm saying that. There's nothing we can do right now."

If there was one thing Temperance Brennan hated, it was feeling powerless. And never had she felt more utterly helpless than she did right at this moment.

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He must have fallen asleep while he floated, because when he opened up his eyes the boat was a tiny speck on the horizon. And there was a great deal of splashing water just a few yards to his left. Someone was swimming towards him. Not very well. Grinning, he waited.

"That was a good long swim, Bub," he told his son as he struggled up to join his father on the raft, breathing hard and yellow swimmies in place on each arm. Booth squinted toward the boat again. "You came all that way? Not sure you should have swum that far."

"Not my fault you got so far away," Parker huffed. The kid had a point.

"How are things back on the boat?"

His son shrugged. "Okay. You coming back?"

His limbs felt so very heavy, and the thought of paddling back that far made him feel inexplicably exhausted. "Not quite yet, Park."

The boy looked disappointed, so Booth gave him a quick tickle until he giggled. They were quiet for a second, gently riding the ripples of the water. Finally, the boy piped up again. "I have a soccer game next weekend."

"I know, we've been practicing every day we've been together. Can't wait to see you play."

Parker nodded. "And…I'm starting first grade soon."

Booth chuckled. "It's still a couple months, Bub. But I know, the time will fly. Jeesh, you're getting big so fast." It was true. In the span of a few short years, his son had grown so much. In so many ways. It was a little disorienting how fast he went from being a baby, to being this smart, thoughtful little person.

There was another moment of silence. Then: "Are you sure you're gonna be there?"

"Well of course."

"Promise?"

"You know I'm gonna try, son."

The child's warm brown eyes seemed pleading. "Are you trying your hardest? Right now?"

He frowned at the question, and looked towards the boat, which had come close to disappearing. A second of what felt something close to alarm pierced the nearly surreal calm he was experiencing. "Yikes, Park. I love talkin' with ya, but you better swim back while I can still see you."

Glancing back, his son nodded reluctantly. "Why don't you swim with me? It's gonna get real hard to find your way back."

"Don't you worry. I'm a big strong manly man." Parker laughed again, a sound he loved to hear. "Tell Bones I'll be back soon."

Parker threw his wet arms around his father. "'Kay. Love you Dad." Without waiting for a reply, the little boy slipped back into the water much more quickly than he had emerged and began his sloppy strokes again back to the boat.

"Love you back," he called after him, watching him become tinier and tinier the further away he got. Crazy kid, asking him if he was going to be around for all that important stuff. He would. He had to. Just…not right now. Surely after some time he would gain his strength again, be ready for that swim back to the boat. Just a little more rest. A little while longer…

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"Bones!" Even though the sound of the nickname was nowhere close to Booth's deep, soothing voice, it was enough to make her head whip around in a reaction faster than any since she had arrived here.

"Hey, Parker." The little boy let go of his mother's hand and ran over to Brennan, and she gave him a hug. When Booth had him one weekend shortly before Christmas, Parker had come up to her and tugged on her sleeve, shyly asking if it was okay if he stopped calling her Dr. Brennan and started calling her by her real name. When she said yes, it hadn't even occurred to her that from Parker's point of view, her real name was and had always been Dr. Bones Brennan. She hadn't had the heart to correct him. "You doing okay?"

He nodded. "Uncle Jared told us Dad's hurt. But he's been hurt lots of times, and he always gets better."

"Your dad's tough. That's for sure," she said in a voice that was much calmer than she felt. Glancing upwards, she looked at Parker's mother. "Hi Rebecca."

"Hi Dr. Brennan." Worry lines etched her face. "What's the latest?"

She had to fight back a hollow laugh. "I wish I knew. Jared disappeared with the doctor awhile ago and I haven't heard anything. And they won't tell me anything. Because…."

"Because you aren't married."

"That's basically it," she replied bitterly. Rebecca looked at her sympathetically.

"When you think about the reasons to get married or not, this isn't the situation that pops into your mind."

Her confused mind wrapped around the words. "I don't think about the reasons to get married."

"Oh." Rebecca looked vaguely embarrassed, and relieved when Parker began asking Brennan questions.

"You think daddy will be better by this weekend? I wanna see my new room! What's it like?" Not for the first time, Brennan wished for just a shred of Parker's naiveté. She glanced at Angela, who was sitting across the room now, and her friend gave her a slight nod. Pulling together all her concentration, she focused on the little boy in front of her, telling him about his new room, the dinosaur bordering they found for him and the Simon Gagne poster that his father had bought and had framed for his wall, acting as if said father wasn't lying somewhere in this hospital fighting for his life. Suddenly, Parker cried out "Uncle Jared!," and all attention in the room was turned to the door.

"Hiya, buddy," Jared replied, picking Parker up easily in his strong arms. He looked over his shoulder and nodded to the other newcomer. "Rebecca."

"How's daddy?"

It was the question of the day. "Well, let's talk abut that." His face looked tired, and he sat, Pulling Parker onto his lap, the rest of the group surrounding him like he was about to read them a particularly interesting bedtime story. "Your dad got a pretty nasty bump on his head. You remember what happened that time Uncle Jared got his hand caught in the car door?" Parker nodded. "What happened to his hand?"

"It got all big and ugly-looking."

"That's right. It swelled up."

"So daddy's head is big."

A slight smile touched Jared's face. "It was always big, buddy. But you're right. His brain is swelling up."

"Will medicine or ice or something fix it? Like it helped with your hand?"

"That's the thing, kiddo. My hand could get about as big as it needed to, and we could get right at it to try to help. But your dad's brain is inside his skull, so it doesn't have much room to grow. So it's gonna be harder to fix it. He's going to go into surgery soon so they can make room."

There was only one thing he could mean, Brennan realized. "They're going to remove part of his skull."

Jared nodded. "Yes." Angela made a small sound of shock, and she took Brennan's hand. She didn't even feel it.

It took everything she was not to blurt out everything she was thinking in front of Parker and Rebecca and the world. "Can I talk to you privately for a second, Jared?"

Booth's brother lifted Parker onto the floor, and moved to the corner with Brennan. "That kind of surgery is so incredibly dangerous. Surely there are other things to try first. There's medication that pulls fluid away from the brain to decrease the swelling. There's medically-induced coma. Why surgery? Why now?"

It was easy to decipher the edge of impatience in his voice. "I talked to the doctor about all of this. The swelling is happening at such a rapid rate that if those methods don't work, Seeley could be dead or brain damaged before surgery could even be attempted. We're going to head it off at the pass right now."

Dead. Brain damaged. She fought back a wave of something that felt like nausea. "I want to talk to the doctor about this."

"Temperance, there's no use. He's already being prepped for surgery now. This is going to happen. I have the final say."

Her eyes narrowed. "You bastard."

"I know you are upset and you don't mean that. Look, Temperance…you have to know that I'm trying to do the best thing for Seeley. You are just going to have to trust in that. Now, I have to go…I'm going to take Parker in to see his father before the surgery."

"I'm going too."

"You can't." He saw the dangerous flash of her eyes. "What I mean is, I talked to the doctor about it. They are very strict. Since you aren't a family member, you can't be in that room without Seeley's express permission. And believe it or not, he's not talking right now, so you have to wait until the surgery is over, and he wakes up. I'm sorry."

He turned to go, and Brennan caught his coat, her voice in an angry whisper. "You're trying to tell me that my partner might die in the next few hours, and I'm not allowed to see him because I don't have a ring on my finger."

"Please don't be angry with me about the consequences of your personal choices. I have no say in this."

She let go of his jacket, staring at him as she backed away a step. He gave her an apologetic look before turning away. "Let's go see your dad, kiddo. He's asleep and kind of funny-looking with all these tubes and a big old patch of his hair shaved off. But we can wish him good luck and not make fun of him too much, right?"

Parker's intuition about the emotional state of the adults around him, and his natural intelligence had begun to interfere with his blissful naivete. He nodded nervously, though. "Can he hear me?"

"Not sure. But we'll think of something good to say if he can." Picking up the child, Jared walked out of the room, leaving the three women behind.

None of them said anything for a few long moments. Brennan had her back turned to the others. Angela walked up to her, put her hand on her shoulder tentatively. "Sweetie? Is there anything I can do?" When she didn't get a response, she squeezed her shoulder lightly, trying to get a reaction, _any _reaction. She almost regretted the decision when Brennan finally turned to face her, and she saw the frustrated, angry, frightened tears that were running down her face. God, she had no idea how to deal with this. There was nothing that could equip her for dealing with this, and the pain her friend was feeling.

"I'm not allowed to talk to the doctors about him. I'm not allowed to be involved in any of the decisions about him. I'm not allowed to see him."

"I'm so sorry, Sweetie. It's so completely unfair."

"I can't accept this."

Angela didn't know what to do except to pull her friend into her arms and stroke her hair. "We'll get through this." But her confidence was shaken when, for the first time in the history of their friendship, Brennan began to sob on her shoulder.

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He could stay out here forever, it felt like. It was a good place. Just so easy to drift off and not think about anything at all.

He heard water churning again, and he opened his eyes, again seeing someone swimming towards him, this time with smooth and practiced strokes. The figure reached out and clutched the side of his raft.

"How did you get so good at everything, Bones?"

She simply glared at him, and he tried not to laugh. "What the hell do you think you are doing, Seeley Booth?"

"Can't a guy just take a break from all the stress for awhile?"

"It's one thing to take a break. Look. Look at how far you've gone." He looked back to where he remembered the boat being, and was mildly alarmed when he couldn't see it anymore.

"Wow. Sorry. Guess I went further than I thought."

"You _should_ be sorry." She pulled herself up onto the raft, swung her leg around him and straddled his middle. His hands went to her waist, and he admired her dripping form above him. She looked like a goddess. "Come back with me."

"But you just got here." Reaching up, he tried to pull her face down to his for a kiss, and she resisted.

"Booth. You've never shied away a challenge before. Why are you doing it now?"

He contemplated this for a second. "It's so beautiful out here, Bones. I'm so tired. Things are hard back that way. They hurt. Can't we just stay out here?"

She just stared at him for awhile, and he started to get a little uncomfortable before she swooped down and touched her dewy lips to his. It was irresistible. Tangling his fingers into her wet hair, he held her, sucking her lower lip into his mouth and running his tongue across it. He had memorized her flavor by now, could taste it in his dreams, but every time he kissed her it was thrilling, like the first time. She pressed her chest to his, and he groaned softly, wishing he had more energy to pull her toward him, tug at her hips until he could show her just how badly he wanted her there with him. How did she get so good at everything, indeed? She could win awards for how well she simultaneously got him hot and warmed his heart. Suddenly, her lips were gone from his, and he groped for her, not wanting the distance. "You know I can't stay here, Booth." The water of the lake dripping from her hair and down her face looked suspiciously like teardrops. "I'll be waiting when you come back."

"Please don't make me do this, Bones," he begged, hating himself for how weak he sounded. "What if I can't make it back?"

"You better damn well try. Try harder than you ever have in your life." She leaned in for one last, soft kiss. "Are we worth it?"

He thought of his job, his sweet son, his new house with the partner that had seemed so intensely symbolic of all he had ever wanted and needed out of his life. He looked into the serious blue depths of her eyes. "How can you ask? You know. You have to know."

Her lips paused by his ear. "Then prove it." And she slipped from his grasp, back into the water, swimming away.

He groaned, watching her recede into the horizon. God. This was so unfair. Gingerly he tried a weak paddle in the direction he saw her go. His muscles felt like jelly, and he felt a brief resurgence of that deep ache, the one that had nearly overwhelmed him before he decided to go to the lake. That one, minimal effort hurt so much. How the hell would he ever make his way back? He tried one more time. This time it felt the strength of another hand joined his own in that water, and for a glorious second it felt like maybe he could do this. Then, in the next breath, it was gone. And he was on his own again.

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"Do you think it hurts him?" The young boy sitting on the edge of the surgical table looked worriedly at his father, who seemed to be hooked to a hundred whirring, blinking, beeping machines. Jared didn't blame him for being concerned. Those cuts and bruises were painful to look at.

"He's asleep, kiddo. He can't feel much in his sleep."

"That's good, I guess. He's gonna wake up soon, though, right?"

There was a reason that Jared made a better uncle than a father….he had no idea how to answer these hard questions. "It's gonna be rough on your dad for awhile, bud, not gonna lie. But he's a tough guy. If anybody can take a licking and come out ticking, it's him." He did his best to smile. The door opened behind him and they looked back

"We're going to be wanting to start in a few minutes," Dr. Georges informed them.

"Okay, doctor. We'll say our goodbyes." The door was shut, and Jared and Parker looked at one another. "You and your dad have anything you say or do to get the good luck flowin'?"

Parker nodded. Gingerly, he leaned down, dodging the dangling tubes and resting his head on his father's chest. "Just do your best," he whispered. Jared's heart nearly cracked in two, and he wiped at his watering eyes. He hadn't cried in years, and he wasn't going to start now and scare his nephew. Parker sat up. "'Kay. I'm ready."

Jared helped him slide down, and took his hand to walk him out. Before passing through the door, he paused. "Hey, hold on a second, bud." Letting go of the boy's hand, he quickly went back to his brother's side, and whispered. "I'm sorry for all the times I wasn't the best brother to you. And I'm sorry that Mom and Dad and Temperance can't be here now. I know they want to be. They love you. You lucky bastard. Except…you know…the whole brain injury thing right now." He knew Seeley would get a kick out of that one, if he were awake. He'd have to tell him about it when he woke up. If he woke up. "And…you know…uh…so do I. The love thing." Feeling foolish, talking to someone who couldn't even hear him, he sighed. "Okay. Hang in there." Turning, he couldn't bear to look back this time. He took Parker by the hand and quickly walked him back in the direction of the lobby. Neither of them noticed the figure behind the door they exited.

She had lingered by the doors to the surgery unit for awhile. When she saw Dr. Georges go in the first time, she thought she had lost her chance. But he poked his head in the room that must have been Booth's, then left again. After she slipped in, all there was to do was wait either to be discovered, or to find her opportunity.

When Jared and Parker left, she took it. Quietly, Brennan slipped in.

"Oh, Booth." She left out a shuddering breath at the sight of him. Amazingly, even as damaged as he was, with all those tubes and machines, he still looked strong. She took him in. "Your hair," she said, noticing the spot that had been shaved to prepare for the surgery. "You aren't going to be happy about _that _when you wake up." She hoped with all she was, unrealistically, that this would be the most upsetting thing to deal with once this was all said and done. Stepping beside him, she clasped his hand in hers. It felt cold. "Please come back," she whispered. "Try. Try harder than you ever have in your life." For one, heart-stopping second, she could have sworn his fingers closed around hers a little tighter. Just a little.

"Dr. Brennan, you can't be here," a brusque voice told her. She looked up as Dr. Georges made his way in the room with two assistants at his side.

"Yes," she said quietly, looking back down at her partner.

"I'm sorry," he explained, trying to be empathetic. "You're not family."

She blinked back a tear. "You're wrong." But she wasn't about to fight him. She leaned down quickly. "I'll be waiting for you when you get back." A light kiss on the cheek. And then, she allowed herself to be ushered to the door and back to her vessel, while Booth clung to his life raft.

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**A/N: You still love me, yes? Yes:)**

**Big ol' promise that the next thing I write (most likely a part 2 for a kinky little fic called 'Submission' that a few folks enjoyed) will be all about the fun stuff:)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: This Brennan-centric chapter is drawn out over the course of a few weeks, so I'm hoping things don't seem too rushed. It's just not in me to linger in the angst for too long. No matter how things seem:)**

**Figured it out. The question of what would happen if one of our dynamic duo got stuck in the hospital, and the resulting seed that flourished in my mind was courtesy of JJagged. Who is awesome. Big old dedi for her.**

**Also for my looker-overs, KJ and B-m-A. Smooches for you. You take the anxiety out of posting. Some of it, anyways;)**

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"How's that?"

Brennan leaned over Parker's shoulder while he carefully pressed the picture against the construction paper. "That's just fine. Are you going to put the glitter on, too?"

Parker nodded. "After the glue for the picture dries."

She nodded. "Good call."

"Will you sign it too?"

"Of course. It's from both of us."

The child took to blowing gently on the glue to assist its drying, while Brennan spread out newspapers on the table, just a little alarmed by the mess that was arts and crafts with Parker. She couldn't help smiling a little at the intentness with which the child pieced together the card for his father, the centerpiece of which was a photo of the two of them, heads together, giving a thumbs-up in the direction of the camera.

"Bones?"

"Hmm?"

"Why don't you ever come with us to visit Daddy?" He didn't meet her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, Brennan saw Rebecca turn to look concernedly from the couch she was sitting on watching television.

"Parker, we talked about that," Rebecca said softly.

Parker shrugged. "I guess I don't really get it."

Brennan could see from Rebecca's face that she was worried about Parker upsetting her, so she gave her an understanding look. "It's okay," she told her, sighing, as she prepared to explain to Parker something that she didn't entirely understand herself. "The hospital has rules that only people who are related to patients are allowed to know information about them and visit them. It's supposed to protect a person's privacy, so not just anybody can know personal things about him. So since I'm not related to your dad like you or your uncle or your grandma and pappy, I'm one of those people who doesn't get to know what's going on."

"But Daddy would want you to visit."

Her heart gave a pang. "I know. But the hospital doesn't know that, since he's not awake to tell them."

"But you live in the same house. They should know that he wants you to be there."

"That makes sense, Park. But whether it should or not, living together doesn't count."

"What counts?"

_Don't make me say it, Park, _she thought. _Don't make me reinforce these antiquated, sexist ideals about what it means to be really, truly _together _with someone. _But there was no way around it. "Being married." She wasn't going to lie to the kid. But it was followed up by exactly the question she feared.

"Why aren't you married then?" She saw Rebecca turn around again, looking at them worriedly. Brennan chose her words carefully.

"Some people believe that you have to be married to prove you love someone. I love your Dad a lot, and I show it in other ways. I feel like we can love each other just as much without being married." Nothing like trying to explain feminist concepts to a 6-year-old. Not surprisingly, he looked vaguely confused.

"Okay. But now that you showed it in other ways, can you get married when Daddy wakes up so that the hospital people will understand?

She forced a smile. "Once he wakes up, it doesn't matter if the hospital people understand. All that will matter is that we are all together again."

"True." Parker nodded earnestly. "But…you never know what's going to happen." She was momentarily set off-kilter by the child's morbid statement, and she knew that he must have picked it up from some adult in his life. She was trying to figure out how to respond to that when he glanced back up at her. "I'm ready for the glitter now."

Switching gears again took effort, but she managed. "Here you go, Parker," she said, handing him the jar of sparkling silver. "I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? I'm going to talk to your Mom for a little."

"Sure." He was concentrating so intently on his glitter job that he seemed to barely notice her departure. Brennan touched his hair gently before she walked over to sit next to Rebecca on the couch. The other women looked up at her and gave her a small smile.

"The place looks really great, Dr. Brennan."

"Thank you. There's still a lot to be done. We didn't get a chance to get much situated before…" She trailed off. _Before things did what they do best for me. Fall apart. _She was ashamed of her own cynicism.

"Well we appreciate you inviting us over. Parker has been asking about you." They both paused, looking downwards, neither quite sure what to say. Finally, Rebecca asked. "Are you okay? Really?"

Okay. Okay was relative, wasn't it? She was functioning. She had gone back to work last week, ignoring the sympathetic and concerned faces of her coworkers, giving them a no-frills update on what Jared and his parents had told her about Booth's condition before brusquely insisting that everything turn their attention back to science. When she came home at the end of the day…the home that she had thought was too big for her and Booth, and was most _definitely _too big for her alone…she picked away at the remaining boxes, putting things in their place, preparing for the day when her partner would come back. Most every waking second was spent trying to distract herself. Trying to forget that Booth still lay in a medically-induced coma that would be maintained until the swelling of his brain went down to a manageable level. Once they brought him out, there was no guarantee that he would wake up, but they would at least be able to measure his brain wave functioning to get the first evidence about whether or not any permanent damage had been caused by the accident. _That _was the morbid question her mind always tried to return to before she shoved the thought away. Which would be less painful…Booth dying of his injuries, or Booth's body remaining alive and healing while the brilliant, beautiful mind that she had fallen in love with stayed dormant, unresponsive? Either thought made her nauseous. So she distracted herself.

"I'm managing." It wasn't a lie, at least.

"I'm sorry."

"Why would you be sorry? Nothing that has happened is your fault."

"No, but…I know how scary this must be for you. It's scary for _me, _so what you're feeling must be…" She couldn't finish that sentence. "And I'm sorry about people questioning the validity of your relationship with Seeley. It's not right. We all know that, and nobody can do anything about it, and that's horrible." Rebecca spoke forcefully, and Brennan was a little surprised at this.

"Thank you. I don't think I had realized…"

"That I was so much on your side?"

The fact was that Brennan had wondered about Rebecca's opinions about her relationship with Booth, ever since she began to spend so much time with their son. Now she just looked at her curiously. She wasn't going to push.

"Months ago, Seeley came by my place to drop off Parker, and he was _so _disgustingly happy. He was _whistling. _And I said, joking, 'Who are _you _in love with?' But he didn't even skip a beat before answering. 'Temperance Brennan'." Both women smiled, and Brennan blushed lightly, embarrassed, but more than a little pleased. "Then he grabbed my hands and acted like he was telling me a secret when he said 'Beck…I think this is it,' with that ridiculous smile on his face. But it wasn't a secret. It never was. You two are good for each other. I don't claim to entirely understand it, but you can't deny the undeniable."

'_But we did,' _Brennan thought. _'For two years.' _It seemed like such a waste of time now. Not for the first time in the past 2 weeks, she wished that she believed in God, so she'd have someone to bargain with.

Her reverie was broken by the ringing of a phone. Both her and Rebecca's hands immediately went to their pockets, and it was Rebecca who came up with the winner. She had a brief conversation while Brennan wandered back to the table to check on Parker's progress with the glitter. It now covered the card and mostly of the table. She signed the one sparkle-free spot that he had left for her name. When Rebecca hung up, she motioned Temperance back over. "That was Mr. Booth. They are going to pull Seeley out of the induced coma today. It's unlikely that he'll regain consciousness right away, but they are going to start the tests to check his responses." Brennan's heart fluttered. She knew this moment was going to come soon. But somehow, she didn't feel prepared. "I'm going to take Parker over to be with the rest of the Booths." She hesitated. "Do you want to come?"

Her question was met with a sense of frustration and helplessness that had become typical in the past several weeks. "It doesn't really make sense for me to be there, Rebecca. I'll just have to stay in the lobby, going out of my mind while I wait for someone to tell me what's going on. I can just as easily go out of my mind in the comfort of my own home, waiting for a phone call."

"At least I'd have someone to wait and go crazy with," the blond woman told her, making her feel a pang of guilt. Rebecca and Booth had once been close, and they still shared a special connection through Parker. This nightmare wasn't just difficult on Brennan. But truth be told, she didn't yet feel comfortable enough with Rebecca to expose her to the inevitable explosion inside of her that would come if the news wasn't good. She would much prefer to break down at home.

"Thank you. Really. But…it's better if I stay here. Please do call me if anything happens, though. I trust Mr. and Mrs. Booth to get me information as soon as they can, but depending on what's going on they might forget."

"I won't forget," she promised. Brennan smiled gratefully at her. "Hey Park," she called across the room. "You ready to take that card to Daddy?"

"Yup," he agreed, lifting the glue-heavy thing up and allowing a shower of sparkles to fall to the floor. At least vacuuming would allow for an extra 10 minutes of distraction today. "Bye Bones," he said, giving her a hug with his sticky fingers. "Thanks for letting me come see my room."

"Of course. I miss you."

"Miss you too. And I miss Daddy."

"Me too," she agreed, letting go of him. She wanted to add something optimistic, about how when Booth was back with them they'd go on a trip, order pizza, finish decorating Parker's room, something. But it just wasn't in her. Not yet.

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"Angela."

"What?"

"You're staring."

"I can't help it. I'm worried about you."

"Can you worry someplace where you'll be less distracting? I'm trying to finish this."

"Why don't you let me come over and stay with you for a few days? You shouldn't be in that house all by yourself at a time like this."

"Ange, please. Stop acting like I'm a grieving widow. I told you, everything's been going as well as it can be. The signs are all positive since Booth was removed from the coma. He's breathing on his own, tests of brain functioning show that he's responding to pain stimuli. This is all good news."

"I know, Sweetie, and I'm grateful for that. But he's still not _with _you." Brennan had to hold back a sarcastic comment at that. _'No shit, Ange.' _"Are you eating?"

"Yes." When she remembered to.

"Sleeping?"

"Enough." Little white lie. For months now, she had trouble sleeping alone, even when she knew Booth was alive and well and safe in his own apartment. This lying awake, a hundred scenarios playing through her mind thing was not conducive to a good night's rest. When she did sleep, strange images haunted her dreams.

"Going to counseling?"

"We are mandated to attend sessions as partners. Without Booth, there is no need to go."

"I would say that there's never been _more _of a need to go."

Yes, she could just imagine it. Her falling apart when Dr. Wyatt asked her some sort of arcane, rhetorical question like "What would it mean for you to live a life without the psychological presence of your partner?" She had cried at the hospital, on the day of Booth's accident. Every day since then, she had somehow sucked up those tears and stored them somewhere inside of her. Now, she had the absurd fear that if something released them, there would be a flood of biblical proportions.

"I'm fine, Ange. See, I'm here at work, getting things done…last week Rebecca brought Parker over and we visited for a little while. When I'm locked in my room and won't get out of bed you can worry about me. Right now…just…please, help me feel like things are normal here."

Angela's sympathetic look only made her feel guiltier, and although she had come to dread phone calls lately, she was a little relieved when hers vibrated in the pocket of her lab coat. "I've got to take this." She spun to avoid her friend's concerned gaze while she answered the phone. "Brennan."

Angela refused to leave before the conversation was finished, and it was a good thing she was there or else no one might have been able to steady her when she swayed dangerously. "Sweetie, are you okay? What's wrong?"

She weakly pressed the "call end" button of her phone and dropped it back in her pocket. "It's Booth, Angela. He woke up."

Her friend's eyes fluttered shut. "Oh, thank God. Is he…?"

"Don't know yet."

"Can you see him yet?"

She was already hurrying to her office to grab her coat. "I'm going to. If it kills me. I'm going to."

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It was Jared who had been keeping vigil today. He and each of his parents had been taking turns spending time at the hospital, just in case there was a change in Seeley's condition. Brennan had been moderately surprised that he had taken of so much work to spend time with his unconscious brother. She wouldn't have expected it. But, she had to acknowledge, this kind of thing changed people. It had changed her.

A nurse had retrieved him from Booth's room upon Brennan's request. When he joined her in the waiting room, his smile was one of genuine relief. "Temperance. You don't know how good it felt to actually call you with _good _news."

She nodded. "I appreciate that. Can you tell me more now?"

"There's not much more to tell right now. He drifts in and out. His eyes open. Can't speak yet, of course…they just removed the breathing tubes last week. He seems confused when he's awake, which isn't surprising…he's still on a lot of pain medication, so the doctor doesn't think it's indicative of his mental functioning. It would probably be much more of a relief for him to go back to sleep. But he seems to be fighting it."

Of course he was, she thought ruefully. God forbid he make things easier on himself.

"I've told him about the accident, and about how long he's been here. I'll tell him you're here now. I'm not sure if he understands anything right now, but if he does, he'd want to know.

"Jared. I'm going to see him today."

Jared sighed and closed his eyes, massaging his temples with his fingers. "Please don't do this today, Temperance. Things are finally going well."

"It has nothing to do with you. I'm not asking for your permission. If Booth can sense my presence at all, I will be there so he will know."

"The entire hospital staff knows who you are. They are not going to let you in that room."

"Then I suppose I'll have to convince them."

Jared opened his eyes. "You know what? You're right. It has nothing to do with me. Why don't you come back to the room with me right now? Dr. Georges is there. You can work on convincing him to disregard hospital policy, and I can be with my brother."

She nodded. "Good idea." Jared looked at her incredulously, but then motioned for her to follow him. Without hesitation, she complied.

Booth's new room was much less medical-looking than the one she had last seen him in, but still had the sterile, near-sickening hospital smell as Jared pushed the door open. All she could see was the back of the white lab coat of the doctor leaning over her partner. "Dr. Georges," Jared said, and the man looked over his shoulder. "Dr. Brennan would like to argue with you." The doctor's expression mirrored Jared's own when Brennan had announced her intentions to him. Laying down whatever piece of medical equipment he had been holding, he walked towards the door, escorting Brennan away from the room while Jared slipped back inside without a word. She watched him go resentfully.

"Dr. Brennan…" the lab-coated figure began. "We have discussed this before. You can't have contact with Agent Booth until he gives written permission to have you present. And although his condition has improved, he is not in a position to do this. It is unlikely that he could even comprehend the meaning behind such a document right now. So you will have to wait."

She struggled to maintain her composure. "I understand you are in a difficult position, Doctor. So I am. I have waited for almost a month now to see my partner. I followed your rules, even though it was difficult for me. But now he is awake, and possibly knows the difference about whether or not I am here, and I will _not _have him feeling abandoned or alone because this world is too ignorant to acknowledge the sanctity of a relationship that falls outside of traditional norms." She had practiced the speech all the way to the hospital, but seeing the unmoved quality to the man's eyes, she began to feel desperation trickling in. "He is the person I love. It took us years to find our way to one another. I finally accepted him as part of my life, and these past few weeks I…" A tear slipped unbidden down her cheek. "I've been so scared. I need to see him. He needs to see me. Please…"

Her soul was bared to this stranger, and when she saw the words "I'm sorry…" begin to form on his lips, and she knew she was going to be turned away again, something in her snapped.

"LET ME SEE MY PARTNER." His eyes widened at her forcefulness. He backed away from her.

"I'm calling security if you don't leave this hospital immediately, Dr. Brennan. I won't have you shouting and upsetting my patients." He moved towards the phone in the hallway.

"Dr. Georges." They had been so intent in their standoff that neither had noticed Jared's reappearance in the hallway. "Does this help?" He handed him a piece of paper, and the doctor looked at it dumbly.

"What is this?" Brennan looked over his shoulder. In shaky, childlike capitals, two words were written.

BONES. NOW.

Her heart dropped and her eyes filled with tears again. "Bones. Me. I'm Bones. He wants to see me."

The doctor looked at Jared dubiously. "You're telling me your brother wrote this?"

"I held the paper. But he wrote it."

"He can barely move." Said suspiciously.

"I know," Jared replied simply. "If you don't believe me, you can come in. I'm sure he'll do it again, even though it's extremely painful for him."

Dr. George's looked extremely reluctant to accuse Jared of being a liar. "That's good news, that he has retained motor skills to do this. But…this is hardly a legal document."

Jared took a step closer to him and spoke in a quiet, cold voice. "For God's sake, the man has been in a terrible accident and has been unconscious for weeks. He's probably in unbearable pain. And all he wants is to see his partner."

The doctor's eyes flickered from Brennan's desperate face, to Jared's somewhat threatening one, and back again. Everyone was quiet. At long last, he stepped back. "You know what?" he muttered. "This isn't worth it. Do what you want. But I swear that if someone tries to bring a lawsuit against me, we never had this conversation. You broke into his room without consent." Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked away. "I'll be back in 20 minutes to start the mental status tests. If you are still here, I'm calling security." He disappeared around the corner.

"Well, that was easy," Jared joked dryly. He couldn't go on because in an instant he had a very grateful Brennan in his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Yeah, well," he said uncomfortably. "I don't need both you and Seeley bitching at me once he's talking again. If I didn't help you out, I'd never hear the end of it." He extracted himself from her embrace. "Besides, he did all the work. I just told him that if he wanted to see you, he better damned well find some way to communicate it because the doctor was being an asshole. I didn't know if he understood me. But apparently…" He pushed her lightly towards the door. "Go. You heard the man. Twenty minutes."

She didn't need to be told twice. She pushed her way into the white room.

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His eyes were closed, and it gave her a chance to study him. She noted with relief that he didn't look as bad as he did almost a month ago. The breathing tube was out. The worst of the cuts and bruises had at least faded a bit, leaving him with a slightly sallow complexion. The bandage of the back of his head was still there, and his entire left arm and most of the fingers of his right hand were in casts. He was a mess. Then he opened his eyes. And she had never seen him look so perfect as he did right that second. They looked unfocused for a second.

"Seeley Booth," she said softly. His eyes immediately were right on her, and without all the tests and science to prove it to be so, she knew with every fiber of her being that everything that made him _him _was intact. She gave a small smile. "Where have you been all my life?"

The doctor was right. He could barely move. But she saw the fingers on his semi-intact hand flex. _Come here. _She was by his side in an instant, using all her restraint not to throw himself on him and squeeze him until he burst. She settled for resting one gentle hand on his. As soon as she touched him, the dam inside of her broke. Long-repressed tears spilled onto her cheeks. "You ruined it, you know. I was so good at being on my own. Enjoyed it, even. And now…God…it's just no good without you, you know?"

His eyes reflected confusion, pain, and she felt a stab of guilt for these accusing words being the first she spoke to him. "We don't have much time. It's been a fight to see you. So…" What to say when you've been waiting for weeks, and you only had a few minutes? "I've been trying to finish unpacking and get the house ready for you. You better come back soon, or else the place is going to look like a museum. Parker came over, and he loves his room. We made you a card. I'll let him show it to you when he gets here. Rebecca will probably bring him after school." She bit her lip. Her tears had waned while talking about these superficial things, and part of her desperately wanted to continue along those lines. But there was more…so much more. "I've been missing you. I've been staying downstairs at night because I didn't want my first memories of our bedroom to be the ones I spent sleeping alone. I think a lot about the past few years. How hard I fought against being with you and loving you, and it makes me angry with myself. I know that I told you I had no regrets, but while I couldn't see you, every second felt like wasted time." She let one finger trace his lightly bruised face and collect the tear that fell from his eye. "We'll be together again soon. And when we are…I'm not going to let anybody take that from me again. I promise you. I love you so much, Booth. I can't remember not loving you."

When those words left her, she was surprised to find herself exhausted of them. It was what she needed to say. Sinking to her knees beside the bed, she rested her head against his side. His three good fingers tangled in her hair and stroked softly, the best they could. When Jared came in the room to warn her that her time was up, her tears had dried. Standing stiffly, she nodded at him. She turned to Booth one last time. He looked at her desperately. _Don't go._

"Thank you for coming back to me." She pressed a gentle kiss against his lips, the ones still to bruised to kiss her back. Pulling back slightly, their eyes locked. "We'll make this right again," she promised him. And as she walked away, she promised herself that it would be the last time she would be forced to leave him.

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The next few days passed in a blur, it seemed. Tests. Lots of tests. Tests to predict the future functionality of muscles and joints and bones, tests of how his brain was working, spatial reasoning, procedural memory, long-term, short-term…tests to try to figure out if the maddening tinnitus he was experiencing was a transient side-effect of the surgery, or a long-term consequence of his brain trauma. Medicine and painkillers to bring the gut-wrenching pain of movement to a dull roar as he began the very first steps of physical therapy. Reunions that were both joyful and painful, the relief that came with the determination that Booth was of sound enough mind to determine his own visitors. Brennan would never forget coming into that hospital room with full consent, escorted by Dr. Georges himself, who apparently wasn't such a bad guy when he wasn't worried about getting his ass sued off. After several days, Booth got his voice back…barely, but enough to greet his visitors and gripe about his hair and tell Brennan and Parker that he loved them. Every small improvement made her jubilant. She was going to get him back. She would wait as long as it took.

A week after his awakening, Brennan sat with him. It was after visiting hours, but Booth had pulled some sort of strings. She wasn't quite sure how he had managed that, being as incapacitated as he was, but he apparently still somehow conveyed threat well, even as he lay barely able to talk or move on a hospital bed. She had been talking a lot, trying to be mindful of the exhaustion of his recovery and the difficulty of his speech. Still, she couldn't help asking him if he remembered anything.

"I remember…a long swim." His voice was raspy, painful. "Had to get back to you and Park on the boat." She looked at him curiously, but didn't inquire further. He was getting stronger. Someday, he'd be able to tell her more. But now…God. All she wanted was to be able to hold him again.

"Booth," she said tentatively, and he looked at her questioningly. "There's something I've been thinking about. I was going to wait until you came home but…well…I don't want to wait. This past month has been a nightmare. Being told I had no rights to see you, not being allowed involvement in decisions about your life and death…it was probably one of the worst things I've ever experienced. And that's saying a lot." She hesitated a second, disturbed by the guilty look on his face.

"I'm sorry."

"No. It's not your fault. Well, the not-wearing-your-seatbelt part…that's something we need to have a serious talk about. But the rest…" Her throat felt dry, and she had to force herself to continue. "The practical considerations of our relationships…have really been on my mind. Fair or not, this world operates by the legality of partnerships, not by the intent behind them. It doesn't matter if I like it. It's not going to change anytime soon. So…I was thinking….we should get married. We should create that legal tie so that our partnership will be recognized in the social and legal sphere. It would decrease the complications in situations like this. It's….it's only practical. So…I guess…I guess I'm asking you to marry me, Booth. As soon as possible."

There. She had said it. And even though it went against everything she had thought she believed in and wanted for her life, the fear was tempered a bit by the joy she knew he'd experience in hearing her say the words. And seeing that joy…she eagerly anticipated that reaction. This would be one of the truly wonderful moments in their lives.

He stared at her. "Temperance," he breathed, and she gave him a small smile. "You know I love you, right?"

She nodded. Of course she did. That's why he was going to be so happy. "I love you too."

He made a small gesture for her to come closer, and she did. "Good. Remember that." She grinned, probably for the first time since this whole mess had started, and brushed her lips against his as gently as she could. "But…"

"But?"

The sigh that left him somehow sounded more despairing than any she had heard since he had awoken. "There's no way in hell I am going to marry you."

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**A/N: Stop.**

**Don't freak out.**

**I mean it! It will be **_**okay. **_**I think I can even promise smut for next chapter. So just remember that, 'kays?**

**(-Sings comforting lullaby-)**

**You **_**know **_**how much those reviews mean to me. So I know I don't even have to tell you to do it. That feels good, being on the same wavelength like that.**

**Kisses!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: You lucky sons of guns, getting another chapter not even a week after the last! Do you know why? Because it's Valentine's Day. And I lurve you. And I very **_**very **_**much lurve all thoughtfulness and interest and reviews that were generated by the last few chaps. Except the one that said it was boring. Ahem. Seeley Booth having a near death experience is NOT boring. Seeley Booth having a near death experience is a horrifying, traumatic experience for **_**all womankind. **_**So. Now that we've straightened that out.**

**Kidding. All are entitled to their opinions, of course. Esp. if their opinions are that B & B are soooooooooo cute and they just can't wait for the brand spanking new post-strike epis that we are gonna get! Yay! And I think that's something we can **_**all **_**agree on;)**

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"Temperance." His voice sounded tired. "Haven't you been seeing enough of me lately?"

"I wanted to see you now," she explained simply.

"We could have talked on the phone."

"I suppose. I just thought…" She paused, not quite sure what to say. What _was _she doing here, miles from home? "I helped you with your publishing questions a few months ago. Now I need help with something that _you _might have insight about."

Jared gave a tired smile. "Quid pro quo, huh? Alright. Come on in." Standing to the side, he allowed her entrance into his home. And an impressive home it was, for a single man. Everything was expensive wood and rich colors, but to Brennan it felt just a little cold—like it was trying too hard to be perceived as valuable. Much like the man who lived there himself.

She was lead through a massive foyer into a family room that was far too neat to contain an actual family. Right now, it only contained one person: Leah, sitting primly on the leather sofa reading a (what else?) Good Housekeeping magazine. At the sight of their visitor, she was on her feet in a second.

"Temperance…I didn't know that you would be visiting today. How are you? Can I get you something? Coffee? Tea?"

As she had been before, Brennan found herself a little unnerved at Leah's eagerness to please. "Thank you, Leah, but I'm fine."

"Sweetheart, Temperance came to talk about Seeley for a bit. Could you give us some time?" Brennan hadn't told Jared what she was here for, but had apparently intuited her need for privacy. Still, she felt bad when she saw Leah's slightly confused look towards the pair.

"Suuuuure," she drew out, looking a little uncertain. "I just….will be in the kitchen, I guess. Let me know if you need anything…"

Brennan fought the urge to tell the woman to stop worrying so damn much about other people and do something for herself for a change. But she wasn't here to cause trouble, so she gave Leah a tightlipped smile as she exited the room. Jared turned towards her expectantly and gestured towards the sofa where she sat while he took a position in the matching armchair. "What can I do for you? I'm thinking it must be important, for you to have come all this way."

"I suppose." She hesitated a bit, trying to remember why, exactly, she _did _come all this way. It all seemed very silly at the moment…Booth was mostly out of the woods, despite having a rather lengthy recovery ahead of him, and the pins and needles that everybody had been waiting on had dissipated. But still… "I wanted to talk to you because…you know Booth."

Jared raised his eyebrows. "And you don't?"

"I'm getting to know Booth. More every day. But you have thirty extra years on me, in that department."

He smiled. "Thanks for the reminder of my rapidly advancing age."

Brennan frowned. "That's not what I meant."

"I know. Please go on."

"Do you remember what you told me in the hospital? When I became angry with you the first time you told me I couldn't see Booth."

Jared's face colored slightly. "Don't tell me. Something horrible, right?" Seeing her impassive face, which betrayed nothing, he sighed. "Sorry, Temperance. I wasn't thinking about you then. All I was thinking about was my brother. I never meant you any offense."

"I took offense at the time. You told me not to blame you for the consequences of my personal choices. It felt as though you were implying that I should have seen Booth's accident coming." She saw him begin to speak up in defense, but stopped him. "I know that wasn't your intention. And later, when I thought about it, I realized you were right."

"I was?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes. I had made it very clear to Seeley over the course of our partnership that I didn't believe in marriage. I assumed that he never pressed the issue because of that. And because of my opposition to the principle of marriage, I ignored the practicality of it. Once the dust settled in the wake of all of Booth's accident, I found myself reconsidering."

He looked at her curiously. "You aren't asking for permission to marry my brother, are you?"

"What? No. Ask _permission?" _She shook her head. "And people wonder why I object to the ritual."

"I'm sorry. I won't interrupt anymore."

"I asked _him. _I let him know that, after taking into account all the potential inconveniences in keeping our partnership the way it is, I was willing to make our relationship legally binding."

"That's what you told him?"

"Not in exactly those words, but…yes. That's the message I conveyed. And…"

Despite his promise not to interrupt anymore, Jared did just that. "Let me guess. He told you there was no way in hell that he was going to marry you."

Her eyes widened. _Now _she remembered why she had come to talk to Jared. "That's exactly it. But I didn't find that response as predictable as you obviously did."

Jared chuckled softly. "I suppose you _do _have some things to learn about Seeley. Didn't he tell you why?"

She sighed. "He told me I knew already. And I would have asked more questions, but I've been trying to not make him talk so much, since it's still difficult for him."

"But if you thought you knew already, you wouldn't be here right now."

Brennan's face scrunched up. "I sort of understand. Almost. Kind of. Not really."

"Tempe. Surely you know that Seeley Booth believes himself to be a man of _principle."_

"But he _believes _in marriage."

"Not the kind that _you _are talking about."

Now she felt more confused than ever. "There's more than one kind? I'm pretty sure there's only one kind."

Jared shook his head ruefully at her. For as much conflict as the two of them had experienced over the past several weeks, he still found her brilliance, in combination with a sweet naivete, to be charming. How could he explain this to her? "Temperance, did Seeley ever tell you the Space Camp story?"

"Yes. The two of you were only able to go if you got perfect marks on your report cards. He got a B in gym because he neglected his athletics, and wasn't allowed to go."

"That's right. That's the way he always tells the story. 'I didn't have perfect grades, so I wasn't allowed to go.' But he always leaves out a part that I think is important."

"What's that?" Brennan asked interestedly.

"Mom was always a pushover for Seeley. He was her baby. She saw how devastated he was; it was _him _who really wanted to go in the first place. I just thought it would be kind of cool, but it was his _dream. _Anyway, when we came home and showed our report cards to Mom, she told him that she would talk to Dad about it. He got A's in all the really important subjects, and it wasn't his fault the gym teacher was an ass. Dad was pretty strict about things, but Mom could be persuasive when she wanted to be. If she would have put her mind to it, he would have caved and let Seeley go."

"But he didn't get to go…"

"Exactly. Seeley made Mom _swear _that she wouldn't try to convince Dad to let him go. He had known what he had to accomplish to get that trip secured. And he didn't reach that goal. He knew that if he went to camp, he'd have a miserable time, because all he'd be thinking about was that he didn't deserve it. He wanted to go, so badly. But not _that _way. Not because Mom begged Dad to let him have a break. He only wanted to go if he felt that he earned it." Jared stopped.

"Yes, that sounds like Booth," Brennan mused softly. Jared didn't go on, and she looked at him expectantly. "So…what does that have to do with Booth not agreeing to marry me?"

"Because, Temperance, he only wants to marry you if he feels it's the right way, under the right circumstances. He's not going to do it because it's logical, or rational, or practical. Seeley's a man of principle. He's only going to do it if it's for the right reasons. And I can assure you that the reasons you mentioned…to him, those aren't the right ones."

They were both silent for a few moments while Brennan absorbed what Jared was telling her. It wasn't that Booth didn't want to marry her. He wanted her to want to marry _him. _And thinking it was a good idea wasn't the same as wanting it, in his world. Yes. That sounded like Booth. Noticing her expression, he tried to reassure her. "There are other ways to accomplish the things you are thinking of. I'm sure that as soon as he is well, Seeley will sign over power of attorney to you so that this particular situation doesn't happen again."

"Yes. I know," she said thoughtfully. They had already discussed it.

He looked at her curiously. "This isn't a personal rejection, you know."

"I know that, too."

"Okay. It's just…you look disappointed."

"Yes, well." She smiled a little sadly. "I suppose I'm just not used to him saying no to me anymore." At least not off the job. She _still _didn't have a weapon approved by the F.B.I.

"Ah. Well. That's not a surprise. The man is stupid in love with you." She couldn't quite decipher the expression on Jared's face. "But that doesn't mean he can't be one stubborn son of a bitch when he really believes in something."

"It's one of the things I admire about him, I guess. Even when it drives me crazy."

Jared studied her, and she didn't truly expect the next words out of his mouth. "I apologize for the way things have been with us in the past few weeks. I think I had lost sight of how important my family is to me, and realizing that in the face of Seeley's accident sort of threw me. My…uh…tendency towards self-absorption prevented me from recognizing that you might have been going through the same process. The fact is, Temperance, ring or no, you _are _family now. So." He gestured to his surroundings. "Welcome to our dysfunctional little world."

She laughed, a little embarrassed. "Trust me, Jared. You certainly haven't cornered the market on dysfunctional families." Maybe, someday, when they had more time, she would tell him the tale of her outlaw parents and her tumultuous childhood. But right now, she had more important things to accomplish. "We were all going through an emotionally difficult time. Hopefully, come next crisis, we'll be able to cope more efficiently."

"Hopefully there won't _be _any more crises."

"Touche." She smiled, and stood. "Thanks for your help."

He stood, as well. "That's what you came all this way for? I thought you were going to ask me something hard."

"I think I may have needed the drive to clear my mind."

"Thinking will get you nowhere but trouble, you know."

So she had been told before, but it was one lesson she might never fully learn. Even having more insight about Booth's reaction to her proposal, her mind was still churning. Mostly to understand why, knowing full well that Jared was right and the rejection wasn't personal, her feelings still felt a little hurt.

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She arrived at the hospital early the next morning, before visiting hours began, and found Booth in his room chatting remarkably well with a giggling nurse. "This is nothing," he was telling her. "You should have seen the _windshield. That's _what you should feel sorry for." The two glanced over when Brennan pushed her way through the door. "Bones," he said, pleased. "You're a sight for sore…everything. Everything is sore."

The nurse laughed again. "You're a trip, Seeley." She patted him lightly on the shoulder. "I'll be back in a few hours to change your bandages and give you your meds, okay?"

"Sounds great, Gracie. Thank you."

"No problem." She walked briskly past Brennan and out the door, closing it behind her, and Brennan watched her before she joined her partner by his bedside.

"Now I see how you are getting all those special privileges," she told him.

"Jealous?"

"About this much." She showed him a space of about an inch between her thumb and forefinger.

"You know that all my special privileges are used to get time with _you." _

"That's why only that much." She demonstrated the inch again. "Your voice sounds much better today."

"It is. My throat seems to be about the only thing making a speedy recovery."

"I think you are healing remarkably fast."

"Maybe. But I'm ready to get out of this bed."

"Booth. You can't even sit up without help right now."

"Well. I shoot for the stars." She smiled at him. "I missed you yesterday afternoon and evening."

"I'm sorry." She pulled up the chair next to his bed. "I had something I needed to accomplish."

"Come in here with me," he told her, gesturing to the miniscule space beside him on the bed.

"There's not enough room. And I'll hurt you."

"It'll only hurt for a second. I want you in here."

"I don't think it's a good idea."

"Bones." His head tilted and he looked at her critically. "Are you _pouting?"_

"What? No!" She exclaimed, just a little too indignantly.

"I think you are. I think you are pouting because I said no to you."

"Well," she responded sulkily, "you weren't very nice about it."

"Sorry, Bones. I don't respond very well to pity proposals."

"It wasn't a pity proposal. It was a well-thought-out, rational choice."

"Please stop with all the romance. It's going to make my teeth rot." He couldn't quite manage a full-out grin on his still-healing face, but he made a quirky smile.

"Stop making fun of me."

"Okay. But stop being a baby. Come here. You know I love you." He held the covers up beside him. After scowling at him for just a second, she relented, insinuating herself one limb at a time, as gently as possible, next to his body. It took some work to get his arm around her and he winced in pain a few times, but kept a brave face when she looked at him concernedly. When all was said and done, she was finally snuggled next to her partner the way she had been longing to be for weeks on end. "See? Isn't that nice?"

It _was. _Almost unbearably so. It was a struggle not to squeeze him too tight, not to bury her face into his skin and eagerly inhale him, not to wrap her legs around him so that he couldn't get away. As if he could get very far right now. "Yes."

"Best medicine I've gotten since I came to this place." He gently kissed the top of her head.

"Booth? Do you think you missed out on anything by not going to Space Camp?"

She felt his lips still on the top of her head. "Now what made you think of that?"

"I was talking to Jared."

"Was he gloating because he got to go and I didn't?"

"No."

"Hmm. Well. I suppose if I would have gone, I would have had new experiences and learned new things about the world and myself. But…no use having regrets. It wasn't meant to be."

_But it could have been, _she thought. _Just not the way you wanted it. Stubborn son of a…._ She stopped short of reflecting Jared's words.

"Hey Bones. Have you thought about me in the past couple weeks?"

She looked up at him disbelievingly. "What kind of question is that? Of course I've thought about you. It's been hard to think about anything else."

"No, not like that. I mean…have you _thought _about me." The suggestive note wasn't lost on her.

She had to suppress a laugh. "Booth, I've been concerned with your recovery after a major accident and major surgery. Sex hasn't been first and foremost on my mind. Believe it or not."

"Ah. Too bad."

Shaking her head, she replied, "Why? You ready to start swinging from the chandeliers?"

"No. But it hasn't been so long that I've forgotten how good it makes me feel to make _you _feel good. Besides. I was thinking that we could use this opportunity to our advantage."

"I fail to see how anything about your current condition could be an advantage to our sex life."

"Well maybe…." His lips lowered to her ear and she shivered lightly at the breath that was blown across her… "Maybe this gives us an opportunity to do a little bit of time travel."

"What are you talking about? You know very well that time travel is physically imposs…"

"How about you let me recall a little memory I have. With a few adjustments that I thought of in my spare time, lying here all day. And you can feel free to do whatever feels natural."

She settled back in his arms, curious to see where he'd take this. And just a little amused that even with a broken body, _these_ were the things that occupied her partner's mind. "Okay. Will I share this memory?"

"Maybe. It's of the first day we met." Well _this _could be interesting. "Do you remember?"

"Yes. You made me watch that horrible video with all the F.B.I. cadets."

"_I _didn't make you. You hadn't had experience handling evidence according to F.B.I. protocol, so you needed to watch the procedural video with everyone else. That's just standard practice. As I recall, I only stayed with you to be nice. I thought it would be a friendly gesture to someone I was being forced to work with."

"Fine. Go on."

"You came into the J.E.H. building and I don't think you even noticed everyone staring at you. We don't see women who look like you walk through our doors very often. I knew you from your books. I walked up and introduced myself. Told you who I was, that I would be your liaison for the F.B.I. That I was looking forward to working with you. Do you remember what you said?"

"No."

"You asked me, 'Why do I have to be here?' Those were the first words out of your mouth to me."

"Oh. Sorry. I was probably busy."

"Yeah, probably. But you looked at me, up and down. I could read that look. Part of it was sizing me up, trying to decide if you could bully me into getting what you wanted, if I would cave under your brusqueness. But I caught something else. You were also looking at me like a woman looks at a man, when she's figuring out whether or not he's worth her time."

"Are you insinuating that I was attracted to you from the first moment I met you?"

"I'm insinuating that when I saw that look, that's what I hoped it was. Because that was the first time that I started to fantasize about _you."_

That gave her a chill. "Oh really?"

"I promised the video wouldn't be too long, and I offered to stay and watch it with you. You looked disappointed. I think you were hoping you could skip out on it. But I was going to make it worth your while."

"I don't remember it being worth my while."

"That's where the time travel comes in. Give me a minute."

"Ah."

"There were those long desks, filled with rows of cadets in uniform, and then there was you and me. I led you to the last row, where there was no one else, just in case you _had _been noticing the guys ogling you and it bothered you. That, and _I _wanted to be the only one ogling you. I sat close to you. I didn't even realize it, I don't think, but I was testing you seeing how close you'd let me get. And you didn't back away. Not one bit."

"I couldn't let you know that you were getting to me."

"Of course not. The lights dimmed, and the film began. The material of my suit was brushing your clothes. I could feel how warm you were, underneath. I wanted to feel more of it. I knew there was more than that distant, dismissive exterior. I was going to inside of it."

"And how exactly were you going to do that, Agent Booth?"

"You're the one who gave me the opening. You were writing something in your notebook—something completely unrelated from the film we were watching, I'm sure—and you dropped your pen."

"You picked it up and gave it back to me."

"Yes. But that's where, in my mind, I start to change history. I told you I'd get it, and you looked at me with those ice-cold eyes. I leaned down, under the table, and saw your legs…they seemed to go on for miles, and were so perfectly smooth-looking. It didn't look like you were wearing pantyhose, and the skirt you had on barely covered your knees. I decided you must be torturing me."

"You thought I was dressing for your benefit? That's a little presumptuous."

"Maybe. But I couldn't resist testing more. I picked that pen off the floor and started straightening up. But I did it slow. And I ran the outside of my little finger from your ankle, to your calf, up to the inside of your knee. When I got up, I offered you the pen and looked straight into your eyes. And you studied me. Probably trying to decide if I did it on purpose or not, and if principle required that you punch me in the face. I could hear your breathing. It was just a little faster. I was getting to you."

He _was _getting to her. Something about his voice, still a little gravelly in his recovery. Her breathing increased in time with his words.

"You decided not to punch me. In fact, you thanked me, softly, while you took the pen back. And it gave me the balls to do what I did next."

:"Which was?" She asked breathily.

"Under the table, I put my hand on your knee, right where your skirt ended. I felt you jump and gasp, just a little bit. Maybe you thought about getting up, pushing me away. But you didn't, and you hesitated, and that's when I knew that you weren't going to stop me. You were going to let me do what I had to do. God, your skin was so soft right there, Temperance. I rubbed it, lightly, pushing the hem of your skirt up just a little inch."

Her hand went instinctively to the skin of her thighs. "In that room, with all those people? That's very, very bad of you."

"But it was keeping you quiet. And you weren't complaining. In fact, you opened up your legs for me. Just a little. I took that invitation, trailing my fingertips up over the top of your leg, then along the inside of your thigh. My hand was getting hotter and hotter. I had never been so hard in my life. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw you glance over at me, your eyes saying 'How far are you _really _going to take this, Agent Booth?' But I stayed staring straight ahead at that damn movie that I had seen a hundred times, and you had never seen because you were too stubborn to think it was important. But this was more important."

Now, she was _really_ starting to feel the fact that she hadn't been sexual in any way, shape, or form in the past month. It had been the last thing on her mind. But now….

"Don't think I wasn't being affected. I was. I was aroused, and I was _terrified. _Imagine, being caught feeling up my new partner in a public place. It could ruin me. I was aware of every chance I was taking and it didn't matter. Especially not when you took my hand in yours and moved it up even further. Your inner thighs were as soft as goddamn flower petals, and suddenly I didn't even know where we were anymore. We might as well have been in some shady porno theater, and all that mattered was getting my hand into your panties."

"You sure I was wearing panties?"

She was gratified to hear his sharp breath. "Of course you were. What kind of a woman wouldn't wear panties on her first trip to meet her partner?"

She smiled lightly. "Just checking."

"They are silky. My little finger gets there first, pressing just a little, and you make a little noise in the back of your throat. I'm surprised the material there hasn't caught fire, it's so hot. Maybe it's because they are so wet. I can feel how damp you are, and I want to get my fingers in that wetness, bring it to my lips and taste it."

A moan left her lips now, and she knew what he had meant when he had told her to do whatever felt natural. Right now it felt that the only thing left to do in the universe was bury her face into his neck and bury her hand in her crotch.

"I draw my finger up and over you…soft, soft, soft, and then I find it, that hard little bud that has just got to be throbbing by now, screaming for me because you can't. I run my fingernail up and down over the silk there, tickling, teasing, making you jerk a little. I can smell you, all perfume and sex, and you are letting me touch you like this because you want me too, I know you do, I knew I couldn't be as hot for this by myself. When I take my hand away you practically hiss, but you don't have to worry, I haven't gotten enough yet. I use my thumb to push that ridiculous scrap of material aside, and _there _we go…bare skin, lush, soft, swollen for me, and I'm like a greedy little boy. My middle finger slides inside of you, hard, and I see your eyes slam shut while your hips arch under the desk. Thank God for that desk. If anybody saw…but they didn't, their eyes are all glazed over as they watch the film, having no idea that I'm behind them trying my damndest to get my new partner to come on my fingers."

She was rubbing herself more frantically now in the hospital bed, wishing desperately that it was his fingers pleasuring her. His fingers, or better yet…

"You're doing pretty good at being quiet, but I have to move slow so those wet sounds of my fingers in you don't drift to the others. I rub the heel of my hand against your clit while I fill you with my finger. You're grinding against me, and your hand on the desk is squeezing that pen like you are trying to strangle it. You had asked me why you had to be here today? This is why. Because you need this too. You need it bad."

"I need you," she agreed, mumbling, practically lost to everything in the room and everything else that was happening. There was her, in his arms, and nothing else.

"You are so fucking hot. I knew it, the second I saw you. I knew there'd be something with us. You're squeezing my fingers. Your eyes are slammed shut. I move my fingers faster. It's driving me crazy. It's driving _you _crazy. I'm about ready to say fuck all these people, and throw you on the desk, to hell with being quiet, being private. My hand feels like it's on fire…it feels like _it's _going to explode along with you…God I want you to…

And she didn't let him continue because she lost it against her own hand. Whimpering, her body spasmed and she bucked, with what was left in her consciousness trying hard not to jar _his _body too much in the process. He pressed his lips against her hair as she came, riding it out with her, pulling strength from his continuing ability to affect her this way, even as he lay there mostly helpless. Although, if anyone were to walk in right now and interrupt them, he might just get up from the bed and kill them, broken bones or no.

"That's my girl," he whispered. "Did you like how I changed the story? I rather like the additions, myself."

"Hmm?" she asked, thickly, her muddled mind wrapping around his words again.

"The story."

It took her a second to realize that somewhere along the way, she had stopped listening to the words of his narrative. They didn't seem important. There was his voice…his scent….his skin….his body….and all of it had wrapped around her and made her love him and turned her on and gave her the most incredible sense of satisfaction and peace. What was wrong with her? Never before had she been so unable to distinguish between love and lust and intimacy and commitment. It was all a tangled ball of feeling. It felt scary. It felt right.

"You didn't even let me finish it."

"Sorry. Was the end important?"

"Yeah, the most important part was coming up."

"What was that?"

"That we fell in love. And lived happily ever after."

She laughed a little breathlessly. "From such humble beginnings…" He smiled back at her. "Nobody told me that happily ever after was going to include near-death experiences and having my marriage proposal shot down."

"That's really bothering you, isn't it?"

"Your near-death experience? Yes. Yes, it bothered me just a little."

"You know what I mean." She shrugged. "You know why I had to do that, right?"

"Because you don't believe that legal, social, and economic stability alone is a legitimate reason to marry."

"No. I had to say no because you _do _believe that."

She looked upwards at him curiously. "Alright, then. What do _you _believe?"

He was quiet for a moment before answering. "I believe that we make our own meaning of things, Bones. Believing in things makes them true…not in the world at large, but for _us. _And I would much rather be in a relationship with you that you believe is based on love and trust and choice, than a marriage that you believe is based on something as practical as legal stability. Like it or not, what we are together or what we feel for each other isn't practical or logical or rational. Pretending like it is…" He shrugged… "pretending like it is takes the magic away."

"So you want me to believe in magic?"

"No. I want you to believe whatever you believe. But I want you to let _me _believe in magic."

As she laid in his arms, she contemplated this. And she wondered, not for the first time, what a person who didn't believe in magic was supposed to do when she was continually confronted with a love that defied logic.

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**A/N: Next chap will have more of Booth's thoughts and motivations, promise. But aren't you glad that this one doesn't end with you wanting to torch my house? Well, everybody except for Goldpiece. She's prob. is like "Whatevs. Get back to the angst, ya big fluffy baby." The Jared heart-to-heart is for her, btw. Always interested in people's reactions to **_**that **_**guy. And likes always, thanks to KJ, my bff/looker-over/missing piece of my puzzle. **

**Next up: V-Day Edition of Happy Holidays by NekkidBoothInc! And a particularly amusing Scene from a Hat. Loves!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I promised you some insight into what was going on in Booth's head. So I did it. But it sort of depressed me a little, because when Booth is sad, **_**I'm **_**sad. And when Booth is insecure, **_**I'm **_**insecure. And when Booth is naked…sigh, that should have followed naturally, but it didn't work out quite as planned.**

**The accident thing has allowed me to play with the dynamics of our characters a little bit, though, so it's been an interesting exercise for me. Let me know what you think.**

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Seeley Booth did his best to forget the regrets he had about his life and concentrate on the tasks in front of him. He recognized that mistakes were only as useful as what one learned from them, and he tried to take those lessons for what they were and move on. But _this _one: It was getting exceedingly hard not to get down on himself. One tiny, thoughtless error, and everything had changed. He had lost weeks of his life. And even though he was getting stronger every day, it was difficult to celebrate the small victories. He wanted to be back at his home. He wanted to be back on his job. He wanted to play with Parker. He wanted to be back in bed with Bones. And those things were so far on the other side of the mountain he was climbing, that he couldn't even see them right now. He felt useless. Seeley Booth _hated _feeling useless.

There was part of him that just wished he could shut himself up here and be all by himself until he got totally better. Then he wouldn't have to see the worried, pitying gazes of his friends and family. Bones, in particular, broke his heart. She was consistently pleasant and upbeat on her visits to him, but he could see the residual dark circles under her beautiful eyes that were etched there by weeks of fear. It was his job to protect her when she was scared. This time, he had been the cause of that fear, and it tore him apart. There's no way he could be apart from her now. They needed each other. But he _hated _her having to see him like this.

"How was physical therapy today, Seeley?" his favorite nurse Grace asked as she checked his bandages. She looked concerned too, apparently noticing he wasn't as talkative today as usual.

"Not bad," he lied. "We practiced moving me from the bed to the wheelchair a couple times." And each time had been torture, every healing bruised and broken part of his body screaming in protest at the movement, sweat pouring off of him with the sheer effort it took just to withstand the jarring sensation of dropping, however lightly, into the chair. He had done it, though. He wouldn't stop until he did.

"That's terrific!" she said cheerfully. "You know what that means? Things can get back closer to normal. You can go along for walks outside, and you can get real showers instead of sponge baths."

_Great, _he thought a little bitterly. _Throw in chasing down criminals, playing soccer with my son, and making mad, passionate love to my partner, and maybe I'll seem a little more thrilled, 'kay? _"When do you suppose I'll get out of here, Gracie?"

"That anxious to leave us, huh?" She smiled understandingly. "Just a few more weeks. You'll be more mobile, and will only need part-time care."

What he heard was, _"You'll only be about _half _an invalid, Seeley. Isn't that great?!"_

"Will your girlfriend be able to take some time off work to help you out?"

He looked at her, horrified. He hadn't even considered that possibility. "I don't want Bones to have to do that."

"I'm sure she would. She's a firecracker, that one."

Before he could respond, said firecracker came into room. Looking tired, as per usual. His heart thrilled at the sight of her, before he remembered just what a mess he must look like right now. He hadn't even got cleaned off after that grueling episode of physical therapy. "What are you doing here so early?"

"It's good to see you too," she said, moving in to kiss his forehead. He did his best to shrink back into the pillows.

"Don't. I'm all sweaty still. It's gross."

Her eyes rolled. "I work with dead bodies all day. _This _isn't gross." Taking advantage of the fact that he couldn't get away from her, she kissed him. He sighed frustratedly.

"We were just taking about all the process Seeley's been making," Grace opened her big mouth and told her.

"Really? Something new?"

"He can get into the wheelchair with help."

"Booth, that's great."

He just couldn't understand her enthusiasm. It was nothing, in the large scope of things. Nothing. He hated the pity that must come along with being excited about his ability to pull a rubber band tight, and get in a chair by himself. She _had _to pity him.

After all, she had asked him to marry her.

Jared had come to visit a few days ago. The first thing he said to Booth was, "I'd call you a freaking idiot if I didn't already know you had a hole in your head." At that second, Booth knew without asking that Jared was privy to Bones' impromptu proposal…and his subsequent rejection of it. He didn't argue with Jared's assessment, but that didn't change his belief that he had done the right thing.

"Yeah. I'm in my first wheelchair rugby tournament tomorrow," he told her. "Gonna be murderballing the crap out of people." She narrowed her eyes at him, and then looked at Grace.

"He's kidding, isn't he?"

Grace laughed. "I hope. But maybe, if he's feeling up to it and it's nice out, you can take a tour of the courtyard tomorrow."

"That would be nice." Brennan rubbed his shoulder encouragingly.

_You know what would be nice, Bones? Being able to get out of this damn bed and pushing you against the wall and kissing you until you don't remember your own name. How's that for nice? And how's that for impossible? _he thought, dejectedly. He verbalized his next thought. "Bones, why don't you run back to work for awhile while I get cleaned up here? You can bring back case stuff and I can help you with it."

"I don't want you to have to worry about work right now."

"I _want _to worry about work. It's better than worrying about this damn ringing in my ears." _And better than worrying about whether I'll ever be able to make love to you the way I want again._

"We can talk about case stuff if you want. I don't need the paperwork. It's all up here." She tapped her head.

"Well it's going to take awhile to do the shower thing."

Brennan glanced at Grace. "Is there any reason why I can't help with that?"

"I don't see why not," Grace told her. "You have anything to change into? We don't want you getting all wet."

"I have my gym clothes."

"Well fine then, let me go get the plastic covers for his bandages." The nurse hurried out of the room.

What? They were talking about him as if he wasn't even there. "Bones, no. I don't want your help. That's what these people are paid for, to do things like that."

"Booth, I _want _to help. You'd rather have a stranger do this?"

"_Yes." _She looked taken aback and just a little hurt by his forcefulness, but he couldn't help himself. For some reason, he was experiencing something right now that felt suspiciously like panic.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you trying to get rid of me?"

His jaw clenched so hard it made his head hurt, and the ringing in his ears ascended to a maddening level. He didn't want Bones to see how hard it was for him to get into that chair. He didn't want her to see his body the way it was right now. Someday, when he looked and functioned the way she remembered, then she could see. But right now? It was unimaginable.

"Just let me get strong first," he said, quietly, his shamed eyes cast downwards.

He could feel her blue-gray gaze piercing him for a long moment before she spoke. When he glanced up, he was surprised to find her right in his face. Her voice was soft, but powerful. "Seeley Booth. I spent weeks not knowing whether you were going to live or die. I wasn't allowed to see you, or talk to you, and even if I had been there was no way of knowing if it would have helped anything. Every day, I had to contemplate what it was going to be like if I never had you in my life again, and I prayed just in case there _was _a God that we would be given another chance. And, because of doctors or God or luck we have been given that chance. So don't lie there and tell me that the proper response is to leave you alone until you're all better. Don't tell me that I can't help you this time. I _can, _and I will. And you are going to let _me _be the strong one this time. Because, sometimes, when you love someone, that's what you do. _You _taught me that."

Her eyes were so full of pain at that moment that his heart nearly joined the rest of his body in being broken. For a second, he was sucked into her world…the world where the people who loved her most always left her, always abandoned her, and she had so recently had to face that possibility again. _Let me be the strong one, _she said. She always was, though. He just forgot sometimes. He couldn't think of anything to say in the face of her pain right now, so the only word that escaped from his dry throat was, "Okay." She looked vaguely surprised that he agreed so quickly, but began to nod slowly.

"Thank you, Booth." Before he had to respond, Grace came bustling back into the room.

"Alright, Seeley. Let's get you into the chair and into the shower. Once we get you situated, I'm sure Dr. Brennan can take it from there." She winked at him, and he smiled at her weakly, mentally steeling himself for the ordeal that was moving from one spot to another.

It took about 10 minutes, Booth grunting with the effort as the two woman struggled to move him from the bed without disturbing any of his bandages or broken bones. He tried to remember what his physical therapist told him…to relax, not fight the people helping him, let them support weight. But God, it was hard. By the time he was wheeled to the large shower room, he still didn't feel quite ready to move from the bench, but he told them he was anyway, just to get it over with. By the time he was settled, his body was throbbing.

"You think you can take care of the dressings and such?" Grace asked Brennan.

"Sure," she said amiably, a little out-of-breath herself.

"Just make sure all the bandages are covered by the plastic. We don't want any moisture getting in. And be careful around the stitches in his head."

"Will do."

"Enjoy, Seeley," Grace told him, giving him a smile before she left the room. "Just buzz me if you need any help."

He was left alone with his partner, and he looked at her warily. She was wearing the tiny shorts and tank top that made up her gym outfit. Under other circumstances, he would have been drooling over her, being barely clothed as she was. But all he could think about was how exposed _he _was about to become. "You sure you wanna do this?"

"Take off all your clothes and spray you down? Absolutely." She winked at him as she went about disrobing him.

"It's not funny, Bones," he murmured, doing his best to shift his body to help her. "If this were you, you wouldn't be happy about it, either."

"It's nothing I haven't seen before, Booth."

"Not in this context."

"What do I care, in what context? It's still you."

"I'm not the man I want to be right now."

She paused in her bandage-covering, and sat briefly on the bench beside him. "You are the man I fell in love with. Nothing more, and nothing less." Leaning over, she kissed him quickly and softly. "I know this is difficult. In more ways than one." She left it at that. There were no other reassurances she could give him. Just that she knew, and wanted to help anyway. He sighed in resignation.

Despite his reservations, the first spray of water on his shoulders, carefully tested on her hand first for temperature, made a groan of pleasure leave his lips…his first real shower in over a month.

Brennan looked a little alarmed. "That okay?"

"Yeah. It feels great." Relieved, she brought the spray up over his head, letting it drizzle through his hair. The place where his stitches were healing burned just a little, but for the most part the sensations were amazing. He dropped his head back to the wall of the shower.

"So I think you are going to get an invitation soon," Brennan said conversationally, carefully lathering up the hospital's antibacterial shampoo in one hand while working her magic with the shower with the other.

"To the invalids' ball?"

"Not funny. Jared told me your parents were going to ask you to move in with them for a month or two after you leave the hospital. Until you're well enough to work again, at least on a part-time basis."

One of his eyes fell open warily and regarded her. "I think I'd rather be in a coma again."

"Not funny. But I figured you'd say something like that. And I think Jared knows that, too." Her fingers soothed through his scalp with the utmost gentleness. His eyes fell shut again.

"All I want to do is be home again, Bones. _Our _home."

"I want that, too."

"And to be able to take care of myself."

"Well." She finished rinsing the last of the shampoo through his hair then, grabbing the washcloth, sank to her knees between his legs to begin washing his feet and calves. "We'll take our time and do what we need to do. You'll heal at your own pace. Until then…we'll deal with it."

"Since when have you become so Zen?" She had the hands of an angel. He always knew that, but right now…he felt more relaxed than he had been in months.

She shrugged. "It was a necessity for getting through the last few weeks."

He looked at her earnestly for a second before shutting his eyes again. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing." Her soapy hands worked their way up his knees to his thighs and hips.

To his surprise, he felt a stirring that felt almost unfamiliar, after so much time. This time, when his eyes opened, they stayed that way, studying her intently in a position that would have been provocative under any other circumstances. That was becoming provocative as they spoke. But she didn't seem to notice.

"Angela and Hodgins are pestering me about when they can come see you," she told him, changing the subject, scrubbing up and over his chest with the washcloth.

"Not yet," he said. His nether regions were beginning to visibly respond to her touch. He was half thrilled by this, and half concerned that his partner appeared to be completely ignoring it. Curious to how long she would continue pretending not to notice, he continued. "I want to be at least walking by the time I see them. Lest Jack thinks he has a leg up on me or anything."

"They miss you."

He missed them, too, but right now he wasn't thinking about his friends.

"Well then I can expect them to be overly appreciative of me when I get back to work."

"Can you turn to the side, just a little, so I can get your back?"

He did as she requested, grunting a little bit at having to move. She had to lean around him to reach the places she wanted, and her leg brushed him in the place that was growing harder by the second. There was no _way _she wasn't noticing. A twinge of frustration hit him. Before the accident, she would have all over this, no pun intended. Their love was infused with a heady sensuality that couldn't be ignored. But that's exactly what she was doing right now.

"If you really want, I can bring over that case stuff that you've wanted to see. You shouldn't feel pressured to work yet, though."

"It would give me something productive to do. Even though it might be _hard _in my current condition." He emphasized the word, hoping she would get the hint.

She didn't respond. The woman was giving him a complex, along with his hard-on.

Finally, unable to keep his mouth shut anymore. "Bones…do you not _want _me anymore?"

Her voice stayed even and measured as she sprayed the soap suds down his back.

"Don't be silly. You've been in a major accident. Your faculties are limited right now."

"Apparently not _one _of them."

She flushed, and he could barely stand her self-consciousness. It made _him _self-conscious. This was the part that had always come the most naturally, even when all the rest didn't.

"Was the other day, in the hospital bed, just a show, Bones? Were you pretending to be aroused just to make me feel better?"

"What?!" she exclaimed, finally showing a little emotion. "Booth, I…I just don't want to rush anything. Don't want you to feel pressured to do anything other than recover right now. _Nothing _I do for you is a show." She seemed angry at the implication, and he felt bad for jumping too conclusions. But her treating him like a patient, instead of a lover…it was driving him insane.

"I just want to know the truth now," he said softly. "If things aren't going to be normal…I want to know."

"You want to know the truth?" The spray was dangling at her side now, water swirling uselessly from the nozzle to the drain on the floor. "I'll tell you the truth. The truth is, the little fantasy you created about us meeting for the first time…it hardly did anything for me."

She might as well have re-broken his bones at that moment. It would have had the same effect. "Yeah?" he asked, his voice hoarse now.

"Yes. By the middle, I wasn't even listening anymore. The words you were saying didn't matter. Not one bit."

Now she was obviously trying to kill him. He wanted desperately to tell her that he didn't want to know the truth anymore. Lie to me, Bones. Please. This is the worst kind of torture.

"_Because…" _She took the hand that wasn't holding the shower nozzle and gently held his chin her hand. "Because, all I could feel was you. All I could think was how grateful I was to have you back, holding me. And how amazing your voice sounded, and how perfect your skin felt, and how much I…how much I loved you. And that feeling…it affected me more than any fantasy ever could. That's what made me come, Booth. You. Just you."

There was no way she could generate that much emotion without honestly behind it. He let out a trembling breath. How could he make her understand the turmoil inside of him right now? The joy at being back with her along with the paralyzing fear of not being man she remembered?

"Temperance," he said, his voice choked. "I need you to treat me…I need you to make me feel like a man again."

Her eyes darkened, and she looked as if she were considering this…trying to decide what he needed most right now."

"You know you'll always be a man to me. Even if we never had sex again."

"I don't want sex. I want to know you want me."

A clattering sound startled him; glancing down, he saw that the shower had fallen from her hand to the tile floor. The water pooled around their feet. She kneeled before him.

"Seeley Booth," she whispered. "I want you. All. The. Time." Her arms were wrapped around his waist, head pressed against his stomach, mindless of getting wet now. Her tank top was soaked, and her hair beginning to dampen. She looked gorgeous, and he wished beyond reason that he could tangle his fingers in those wet locks and pull her lips to his.

But he remembered what she had said. Right now, he needed to let _her _be the strong one. So he waited with the utmost patience until she carefully kissed her way up his chest, mindful of the healing cuts there, running her tongue delicately up his throat and jaw until it reached his mouth. Sighing with relief, he opened his mouth to hers in a lover's kiss—their first kiss like this since his accident. She braced herself against the bench between his legs and hovered against his mouth. He heard the tiny sigh leave her lips, the one she always made when their kisses began to get heated, and triumph filled him. She wasn't faking this. Couldn't be. He knew her too well.

"You are…the best nurse in this place," he murmured.

"Do I need to be more jealous of Grace than I thought?" she said huskily, running one wet finger down his chest…to his belly…his cock, which had softened a bit when she scared the crap out of him earlier, stiffened again at the brush of her palm. _Yes…_he remembered this. Vividly.

"Wouldn't know. All I've been thinking about is you."

She seemed pleased with his answer. Picking up the nozzle to the shower once more, she let the water drizzle down his stomach and over the place where her hand touched him, beginning a slow, maddening stroke under the pretenses of cleaning him. "I can promise that _no one _will be as thorough as me."

The pain in his body seeped from his consciousness, and what was left was a deeper, more pleasurable ache…one that told him his body was remembering how to function like this again. She brushed her knuckles against the sensitive skin of his balls and he gasped. Immediately, her hand pulled back.

"Did I hurt you?"

He almost groaned in frustration. "The only thing that will hurt me is if you stop right now." He saw the unsure look on her face. "I _mean _it, Temperance."

Her hand returned, tentatively. "You'd tell me if anything hurt, wouldn't you?"

"Bones. I love you like crazy. But if you don't touch me like you mean it, I swear I might scream."

Taking the hint, she gripped him firmly. "No screaming," she scolded softly. "I wouldn't want anyone to walk in on us when I'm about to do what I'm about to do."

"Which is?"

"Swallow you whole." She said it in the same matter-of-fact tone that she used to describe tests she ran on bones in her lab. Somehow, that made it more erotic.

"You are the fucking sexiest thing alive, you know."

"No, baby." The sound of the endearment leaving her lips somehow gave him more hope for normalcy than anything else that had transpired thus far. _"This _is." Her arms wrapped around his hips and grabbed his ass lightly. Despite what she had said earlier, she didn't swallow him whole straight away. Her lips delicately surrounded the tip of him and suckled, tongue darting out to drink the shower water from him.

"That's my girl," he murmured, watching her, wishing he could more easily thrust up to meet the delicious sensations she was creating with her swirling tongue. But he supposed he could be as easily content just relaxing, letting her pull the feelings from him, pretending for just a few minutes that when it was over he could sit her down and return the favor. With a sexy little sigh, she sank down on him, taking him deep. He never could figure out where she fit all of him. But he was glad she did. He felt the muscles in her throat pulling at him, milking him. His balls tingled. "God, I've missed…everything…"

At that moment, there was a sharp rap on the door. Brennan flew backwards in surprise. Her bare foot caught on the water that had pooled from the abandoned shower nozzle of the floor, and her legs went flying out beneath her. She fell onto her ass hard and bit back a squeal.

"Everything okay in there?" Grace's voice wafted in pleasantly. "You need any help?"

"NO," both of them replied emphatically. Brennan frantically tried to regain her footing on the slippery tile, and was partway up before she fell again. Booth was caught between groaning and laughing.

"Okay, well let me know! We did to get the shower ready for our next patient."

They looked at each other guiltily. "Okay," Booth managed to get out. "I'll be done soon."

They heard her footsteps trail away. "She is _not _my favorite anymore," he told his partner dryly, while she struggled up off the floor, the bottom of her shorts soaked.

She was rubbing her bottom with an irritated look on her face. Now, he couldn't help but laugh, even though it hurt a little. "Did you hurt your cute little ass?"

"It's not funny," she complained, not for the first time that day, and he chuckled softly. "More embarrassed than anything," she admitted. "I feel like we almost got caught by the babysitter or something."

He sort of felt that way, too. But surprisingly (especially given that he had been interrupted at a critical moment), it didn't feel bad. It felt mischievous. Naughty. _Normal. _

"We have to get dried off," she said apologetically.

He feigned outrage.

"I'm _sorry," _she said, with feeling.

"It's okay, hot stuff." He motioned with his head to come over and give him a kiss, and she did, resting her arms on his wet shoulders. "You made me a happy man today."

She paused in her kiss…then she chuckled, too.

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"Nothing. It's just that…that was the response I expected when I proposed to you. Not the response I expected when a nurse interrupted fellatio."

He couldn't help the burst of laughter from his belly. And it hurt. Badly. "Ow ow ow…"

"I'm sorry." She struggled to control her own giggles.

"In the words of the smartest person I know…stop apologizing. I don't want you to stop trying to make me laugh. I don't want you to stop trying to make me…you know."

Her blush wasn't quite as deep as when they first started talking sex, or when they were so rudely interrupted. But it was still there. In so many ways, this was new territory for them. But he had to trust her. Trust her to be the strong one.

Turning, she grabbed a towel from the hook on the door and wrapped it around his shoulders. "Make it up to you later?"

He nodded, gave her a smile. But it didn't stop his immediate thought. _No, Bones. I'm going to make it up to _you. _All the worries, all the fears, all the sleepless nights that you had because of me. And when this thing is all over, and I'm the man you deserve again, I'll make sure that this wasn't just a mistake._

Never had it been harder to hold onto the belief that everything happened for a reason.

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**A/N: The shower smut was specially written for B-m-A. Sorry for the rude interruption, dear. Bren and I will make that up to you and Booth.**

**I heart my reviewers and their thoughtful comments, and I anxiously await all their thoughts and hopes and dreams and fears.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Holy heck. Another chapter of BWM! I know! Can you believe it?**

**This is the "semi" part of my semi-hiatus from this story…which I **_**had **_**to continue writing b/c **_**some people **_**wouldn't stop **_**bugging **_**me about it…**

**Lol. Just kidding. All I have gotten is gentle encouragement and many well-wishes in my wedding-planning craziness, for which I am truly grateful. Y'all are some amazing peoples, you know? Am tres glad to have made your acquaintance. Kisses to you.**

**Dedi for ForAReason. Who is awesome, and, coincidentally, makes a **_**fantastic **_**two-year-old:)**

* * *

"Hey, Booth," Hodgins said cheerfully. Booth eyed his friend morosely as he came into the room. "I just heard the good news! How excited are you? On a scale of 1 to 10?"

"I'm excited."

"_Really _convincing."

"No. It's great. I'm getting sick of this place."

"Then why do you sound like somebody killed your puppy?"

"See how cheerful _you _are after sitting in the same room for almost two months."

"Well, for a month of that you were too comatose to complain. And…hmm. Watching tv, having a fleet of people to feed me, bathe me, take care of my every need…doesn't sound too bad."

"You would want to shoot yourself after a week."

"Probably," Jack agreed mildly, pulling up a chair. "But hey. Tomorrow. Back home. Home cooked food. Your own bed."

It _did _sound good. But it just wasn't going to be exactly the way he pictured spending his first week in his new home.

He was getting better. Moving around, although still not easy by any means, was becoming less of an ordeal. He could even walk a little bit, with the assistance of another person or holding onto a walker with his one good arm, with its newly healed fingers. Things were looking up, and he very much wanted to be able to focus on that. But.

"Did Bones tell you that my mom is going to be staying with us?"

"Yup. Why do you think I added home-cooked food to the list of perks?" Jack grinned, then smirked at the lack of smile from his friend. "Oh, c'mon. It'll be nice, having her around. Brennan can go to work during the day and make sure all your cases stay nice and fresh for when you get back. And when she gets home at night she can actually be your girlfriend, instead of your nurse. Unless…you _want _her to be your nurse. In which case she can do it in the fun way." He winked.

"Yeah. Um. That's a problem, too."

"Huh? _Oh." _Jack clucked sympathetically. "Having trouble getting back in the saddle?"

Booth's eyes widened at the implication. "_No. _Not like that. It's…the doctor."

"Whaaaaa? Dr. Georges? Brennan told us about him. The asshole."

He sighed. He knew it wasn't the doctor's fault, but right now the man topped his shit list. He remembered sitting in his wheelchair in the doctor's office beside Bones, while the man read down his list of conditions to go home. Which was a giant list of do-not's.

"_Of course, you will still be expected to come to physical therapy every other day, and most of your continued improvement will happen there. At home, we want you to practice the exercises, but nothing too strenuous. Keep attempts at walking down to 10 minutes. No lifting anything heavier than five pounds. No bending. No twisting. No sexual intercourse."_

Booth had stared at him uncomprehendingly. _"Are you kidding me?"_

Dr. Georges' face was impassive. "_No. Any intense physical exertion should be supervised by a medical professional."_

Both he and Bones opened their mouths to protest, and Dr. Georges cut them off.

"_And no, Dr. Brennan's Ph.D.'s do not qualify her as a medical professional." _

The two partners had made their way back to Booth's soon-to-be-vacated room in silence, both of them feeling guilty about what they were thinking. Yes, they were glad that Booth was alive, and getting better. Yes, they were glad that he was getting to go home.

But.

And then, his mother had insisted on coming to stay with them. For at least 3 weeks. And when he told her it wasn't necessary, she almost started to cry.

This whole thing was a bad, _bad _scene. He looked desperately up at his friend.

"You guys are the geniuses. Can't you hook me up with a bionic arm or something?"

"Sorry, dude. Wrong kinds of geniuses. Hey…you know if there's anything that Angela and I can do, please….don't be a guy about it, okay?"

"It's been sort of difficult to feel like a guy about much of anything, lately," Booth sighed.

Hodgins looked at him with a helpless expression that he was coming to hate. "It'll get better."

"Not soon enough."

* * *

He had begged her to let his homecoming be a quiet one, and she agreed gratefully, having been tired of sharing him anyway in the past several weeks. The night before, she had barely slept, wracked with an emotion that she could not distinguish as pure excitement or pure nervousness. As she wheeled him into the living room…the one he had last seen covered in boxes right before he made love to her in a sleeping bag on the floor…she couldn't take her eyes off his face.

"What do you think?" Her voice cracked a little, and her anxiety heightened as he looked around thoughtfully and did not answer her right away. Finally, he met her eyes and gave her a small smile.

"You did a great job, babe."

"I didn't do everything…there are still lots of boxes in the basement. And I haven't touched your office. But Parker was anxious for his room to be done, and Angela offered to help with that, so I…"

"It's okay, Temperance," he interrupted her. "I wasn't expecting you to put everything on hold while I was…am…out of commission."

She wrung her hands uncertainly, before she circled him fully and forced a smile back. "I just…it's your place, too."

"Well then. You better start making me feel at home."

Laughing at her own self-consciousness with this person who she had shared nearly everything with, she shook her head ruefully and leaned down, bracing her hands on either sides of his chair. "Sorry. I'm just so glad you are here."

"Show me," he whispered, and used the hand on his good arm to cup her cheek and draw her lips to his. The kiss was tentative at first on Brennan's part, but now that he had the use of his hand, he was able to pull her to him more demandingly. Her full lips parted on a sigh, and he sucked the lower one into his mouth, nibbling on it gently. She sagged into him a little. There we go, Bones. His fingers twirled into her hair. Screw Dr. Georges. This was _his _house. He could do what he wanted.

And of course, that thought was immediately interrupted by a brisk knock and the opening of the door. As was becoming an unfortunately typical occurrence, Brennan reeled backwards guiltily.

"Hi, Mrs. Booth."

"Welcome home, kids!" came the cheerful reply, as Mrs. Booth came bustling in pulling a mammoth suitcase behind her with one hand and carrying a casserole dish in the other. "It's so _good _to see you both outside of that hospital." She leaned over and kissed Seeley on the forehead, while handing the dish over to Brennan. "You look great, Sweetie. Temperance, can you take this to the kitchen? We can have it for dinner. I have some more things out in the car to go grab. Seeley, you just relax. Temperance and I will take care of you, okay? I'll be right back." She breezed out the door, with Brennan and Booth staring after her. They looked at one another, and Booth's jaw was hanging a little slack.

"I can't do this. I really don't think I can handle it."

"It's not forever, Booth," Brennan told him with a sigh. "Just a few weeks."

"I'm tired of waiting, Bones. So tired."

"Hey. No waiting." She tipped his chin up with her finger. "Whatever this is going to be, it's going to be okay. We're here together. That's what's important."

He smiled at her, gratefully, and she returned it, stroking a finger along the stubble of his jaw and gazing at him until his mother, unbelievably, hauled in another suitcase that was almost as large as the last one.

"This should be all. Now, no need to make up the guest room for me….I'll stay down here with Seeley. That will just be easier if he needs anything."

"What? Mom! I'm not staying down here."

"Well we can't have you going up and down the steps all the time…you know what the doctor said."

"I think if we both help him, it should be okay," Brennan offered softly.

"I just don't want…"

"Mom. I'm a grown man. I'm going to sleep in my own bed. _With my girlfriend," _he said through gritted teeth, feeling just a little ashamed at Brennan's half-embarrassed, half-irritated look in his direction. _Shit. He had said the "G" word._

His mother's eyes widened slightly and her mouth opened as if to protest, then closed as if she had thought better of it.

"Mrs. Booth, why don't you take these things into the kitchen, and then later we'll get you set up in the upstairs room? I'm sure you'll want at least a little bit of privacy after spending all day hanging out with this guy."

The older woman forced a smile. "Thank you dear."

"I'll come in to help in a moment."

"No, please, I can find my way around. You do enough all day. You are…"

"A doctor, I know. But I've picked up a few other skills along the way," Brennan assured her. "I'll be in in a minute."

"Okay," his mother said tentatively, looking between the pair before making her way into the other room. Brennan looked at him.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly.

"Hey. I'm not the one that just rubbed in my _Catholic _mother's face the fact that we are sleeping together."

"Shh," he hissed, finding the modesty that was underlying all his frustration, and she chuckled softly.

"Although she probably figured that out when you couldn't keep from climbing into bed with me at every opportunity when we were at your house for Labor Day."

"I didn't hear you complaining."

She smiled enigmatically.

"I'm not going to spend another night not touching you, Bones," he said softly, and saw her shiver a little. She took a step closer.

"That bed and I have been waiting for you a long time, Seeley," she said, a fingertip caressing his shoulder. As she leaned down, he anticipated the touch of her lips on his again, but they brushed his cheek. "I'm going to go help your mother in the kitchen for a minute. Do you need anything?" She straightened up, and he missed the warmth of her face near his.

"Only you," he told her, quietly.

And he meant it.

* * *

She was beginning to feel as if the very worst kinds of feelings were mixed ones. Just when she had started to become better at identifying her emotions, along came these strange hybrids which confused and threw her a bit. Having Booth home at all had presented myriad dilemmas that had initially been overshadowed by the pure joy of having him back with her. But the deck of cards they were dealing with were entirely different than those they had played the last time they were here.

After dinner, and getting Mrs. Booth set up in the guest room, and the somewhat-ordeal of getting Booth up and into the bedroom, Brennan had gone back downstairs to clean up a little. Instead, she found herself eyeing the phone laying on the coffee table. She only hesitated a minute before picking it up and dialing.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice answered.

"Angela…hi, it's Brennan. Did I wake you?"

"It's okay."

"I worried it was too late."

"Never too late. 4 a.m. friends, remember?"

Brennan did remember. She had been in grad school, and she had just found out she lost a scholarship to someone (a man, coincidentally…or not) who she _knew _was not as experienced or accomplished as was she. Angry and a little depressed, she had called her advisor-slash-lover at the time…Michael Stires. And his secretary informed her he had just left on a dinner date with another woman in the department…a real doctor, not a student who was struggling every day to prove herself in the academic and professional world. It shouldn't have surprised her…she and Michael had agreed, no strings. But she spent the rest of the evening wallowing in misery and self-pity. It had been 11 at night before she finally got up the nerve to call Angela. Their friendship was relatively new, and she hadn't wanted to bother her with this…but she _needed _someone to talk to.

Angela had listened to her account of the day in silence. When Brennan had exhausted the story, the first thing her friend had said was _"This is what you've been going through all day? And you are just calling me _now?"

"_I had thought it was too late," _she had replied lamely, not quite ready to fully acknowledge the massive internal battle that had taken place before giving in to the desire to lean on someone.

"_Too late? Temperance Brennan. I don't care if it's 6 or midnight or 4 fucking a.m. You need me, you call me. You got it? 4 a.m. friends."_

And for the first time in that entire shitty day, Brennan remembered smiling.

It had unnerved her a little, how fast she and Angela had clicked.

Now, nearly nine years later, one of the things she was most grateful for was that she had found the courage to make that call.

"Booth's home," she told her friend. "I am officially living in a house with my partner. And his mother."

Angela chuckled. "Have you died of bizarreness yet?"

"No. But getting there. I'm grateful she's here, Ange. I really am. I honestly don't think I could give up my work right now, and having Mrs. Booth here is making it so I don't have to do that. But right now…I have to feel strange about sleeping in the same bed as the man I'm _living with. _While we were fixing dinner, Mrs. Booth actually made some comment about after all that happened, it might make Seeley more future-oriented and marriage-minded. She _said that. _As if I have been waiting around for him to commit to me or something."

"Oh, Lordy."

"And then…this was just a few minutes ago…I felt like I practically had to yell at her to keep her from coming in our bedroom to tuck Booth in. We need her help with the stairs, but Booth and I are perfectly capable of taking it from there. But she just wants to 'make sure he is comfortable.'"

Angela was laughing in earnest now, and it brought a smile to Brennan's face at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Sorry, Mrs. B.," Angela chuckled. "You had your crack at it for 18 years. Now, Seeley Booth's comfort is firmly in the hands of one Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"It's not funny," Brennan insisted, despite the fact that she was now laughing too.

"Oh, Sweetie. This whole thing is just part of the healing process. It's not just about the stitches and the broken bones."

"Yes. I know that. I just don't like feeling as if I have to assert my position as the woman in his life. Especially not now, when we have so many other things to deal with."

"It hasn't been about just you and Booth for a long time. You should give yourself more credit to be able to cope with these things."

"It's cope central, here."

"It sure is. But I bet I know one place in that big old house where it's all fun, and no coping. Up in that new bedroom of yours. Behind a _locked _door. With your man."

Brennan smiled. "Dr. Georges has prohibited sexual intercourse."

"I'm sure I don't need to tell the brilliant Dr. Brennan that there is more than one way to make love."

"True."

"Besides, it's your dirty mind that went straight to sex. I was just implying that it might be good for the two of you to have alone time. Away from doctors and nurses and meddling mothers. Just Booth and Bones."

"Just Booth and Bones," she echoed. Yes. It sounded so very nice. "Thanks, Ange."

"Anytime, Sweetie. Go get him. And give him an extra-wet tongue kiss. For me."

"I thought it wasn't about sex."

"It's not. Just thought you would enjoy a little bonus, though."

"Always looking out for me," she grinned. "'Night, Ange."

"The sweetest dreams to you."

Stretching, she stood. Forget cleaning up. There were more important things to get accomplished in this house.

* * *

He was propped up in bed reading _Men's Health. _He looked up into her amused expression as she came into the room.

"Just so you know, neither I nor your mother are taking you to the gym any time soon. So you can forget it."

Sighing, he dropped the magazine. "I'm losing definition in my arms and shoulders."

"You look great. And anything you lose, you'll get back quickly after you recover just a little more. I know you." She began to undress, and he watched her interestedly. How long had it been since he had the privilege of seeing her take part in her end-of-the-day routine? Every one of her movements suddenly seemed worthy of his rapt attention.

"_You _look great."

She smiled at him briefly over her shoulder as she tossed her top in the hamper.

"I'm sorry about this whole thing, Bones. And about my mom."

"She loves you and wants to take care of you."

"I hate it that she has to."

"Yes, well. Your mother isn't here right now, is she?"

"No. I suppose not."

Pausing in her undressing, she crawled across the bed to him, taking a position facing him while sitting between his spread legs. She rested her forehead against his. "How are you doing?"

"Not bad, babe. Except the whole sort of feeling as if I'm living in an alternate universe right now. But other than that. This is the best I've felt in a while."

"Good. I see you getting stronger each day, you know."

"I know I'm doing better right now," he murmured, running his large hand up her mostly bare back to cup her head. He felt her ankles cross delicately behind his back, and knew she was struggling to remember to keep her weight off of him, to treat him gently like Dr. Georges had said to. God, he hated that man right now. Pushing thoughts of _that _doctor away, he concentrated on the one in front of him, brushing her nose with his before kissing her thoroughly.

"You taste so good," she told him, breathlessly, when he released her captured mouth. Briefly, he thrilled at the new-again concept that here, there were no visiting hours. He could kiss her for as long as he damned well pleased, and he planned on taking full advantage of that. "Booth," she sighed as he placed tiny kisses behind her ear and down her neck. "You are severely testing my self-control."

"Mission accomplished. Now. Jump me."

She giggled delightedly as she tilted her head, inviting more of his tortuous kisses. "I'm not going to risk hurting you just because we are horny."

"Really? I'm sort of willing to take that risk," he groaned lightly, pinching at the clasp of her bra behind her. Good thing he had already learned how to do this one-handed _before _he had been put in this cast. She wiggled out of it.

"What do you suppose Dr. Georges defines as 'sexual intercourse?'" she mused, as her fingers wormed between them and dipped into the fly of his pajama pants.

"I wasn't going to ask him," Booth told her, taking a sharp breath as her talented hand found what it was looking for and circled him hotly.

"Certainly…just _touching…_should be okay. Wouldn't you think?"

An involuntary "Ooohhhh…" left him as her fingers slid softly, up, then down. "No. I can't imagine…that wouldn't be okay."

"Booth," she breathed against his ear. "Touch me."

Hell, yeah. He had at least one good working hand now. And at the moment, he couldn't think of a single better way to use it.

Joint gasps came from them as his hand cupped her through her panties for the first time in…he wasn't going to think about how long. It would only depress him. "I think…that's what heaven must feel like," he groaned, absorbing the hot dampness of her into his palm. "Jesus, Temperance. I want you."

"Yes," she sighed, pulling him from the confines of his pants and gripping him tightly, squeezing him with her velvety little palm. And she could have explained that heaven, for her, went so far beyond the throbbing pleasure she was feeling right now in her groin at the sensation of his hand on her…it encompassed everything about having him here with her, in their room, on their bed…in their world. Angela had been right. She _could _cope with all the rest. As long as she had this. Always.

She leaned into his mouth, devouring it while she stroked the familiar, rock-hard contour of him, remembering everything now as he pulled her panties aside and caressed her with trembling fingers. God, those hands. He could only use one of them right now, and he could _still _bring her to her knees with just a touch. Her head fell back, and she leaned backwards braced on one hand while the other worked to bring him as much pleasure as he was her. Their eyes turned downward and watched intently. She loved the way he looked in her fist. She loved the way his fingers looked against her, disappearing into the molten depths of her and stroking the way only an old lover could. She loved him.

"Are you gonna come in my hand, baby?" he asked her raggedly, and she moaned softly.

"You gonna come in mine?" Their eyes met, darkened with lust, and that gaze was what it took to answer the question for them.

His eyes rolled back in his head for a second at that first orgasmic spasm. He shouldn't have been surprised. It had been months since he had achieved a release like this. But still, it hit him with ton-of-brick force. His partner's whimpers seemed to prolong it, and he rubbed her over and over, forcing her to fall with him, needing to see that look in her eye. Her displayed body quaked in front of him. Because of him. Yes. He was in heaven.

Their heaving gasped synchronized into shaky breaths. Their eyes met and they gazed first in amazement, then with acceptance, and they fell into breathless laughs.

"I get it. He was right."

"What?"

"The doctor. If I would have sex with you right now…_really _have sex with you…I'd die. It would kill me."

"Don't _say _that," she admonished. With one last, sweet squeeze, she released him and swung her legs from around him, grabbing a towel from the nightstand to wipe off their drenched bodies.

"Sorry," he shrugged. "It's how I feel. It's just _that _good."

She gave him a look. Done with the clean-up, she turned off the bed-stand light and eased back with him and into his side, pressing her lips to his chest gently. They laid silently for a few moments.

"I'm going to make all this up to you, Bones. I promise," he told her.

She looked up to him, even though she couldn't see in the darkness. "No," she replied firmly. "No making up. Just living."

"Just living, huh?"

She nodded firmly.

"I guess maybe I can do that."

Pacified, she relaxed back into him, hoping she could take her own advice. Living, she had no doubt they could do. Living _in the moment_ was harder, when your nature was to count cards.

* * *

**A/N: Heeeeeeey. Last chap of this story, I realized something. The great majority of folks say they want fluff, and yell at me for angst. But the angst gets soooo many more reviews! What gives? Is Goldpiece right? Are you all angst-whores at heart? Because I can do that, you know. I can tear your heart apart. I can bring it oooooooooon.**

**Are you sufficiently blackmailed yet?:-D**

**Thanks to the b to the f to the f KJ for her lookover help.**

**As always,**

**Loves.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Yay! Am so glad you've returned from the dead faint you experienced when you saw this story's been updated! Thanks for being strong. I knew there was a reason I thought you were the best readers evah:)**

**Wellz, I can't make any promises that my self-imposed hiatus is over...that wedding is still the horizon, haunting me. But, if you are willing to not murder me for slightly shorter chapters and for the unpredictable delays caused by wedding!panic, I promise to try, esp. since Sensate Focus is completed. Deal?**

**--**

He slammed the car door, having hurried to turn off the car and undo his seatbelt. "Stay put," he requested, moving stiffly but quickly around the front of the vehicle.

"Booth, if we ever had an opening-the-car-door-for-me stage of our relationship…which I'm fairly sure we didn't…we are well past that now," his partner argued. But she allowed it, likely understanding that his ability to perform the nicety was more important than any other meaning she may have ascribed to it. She smirked as he offered his hand to her, helping her up. "Thank you," she said, her voice sounding slightly scolding.

Unable to resist, he pushed her against the warm metal of the car, placing one hand on the window beside her face. "This is a good day," he proclaimed softly, before his lips firmly descended on hers.

"And now all the neighbors know it," she teasingly murmured between kisses, but by her response to him, she wasn't truly concerned about it. Her tongue swiped his lower lip, and he made an effort to capture it with his teeth. She pulled back, evading him. "Inside," she whispered. "You think your mother would buy that we need a nap? For an hour? Or two?"

"Let her try to stop us," he promised, pushing off the Tahoe and taking her hand, pulling her to the door of their house with the confidence of a man just cleared to go back to work (desk duty for now, but he'd take what he could get) and to make love to his partner in whatever form he felt comfortable with. Right now, he felt _extremely _comfortable.

She was laughing breathlessly at his exuberance, fumbling in her bag for her keys. "It's been awhile since you've moved faster than I have," she said, finally getting the key into the slot, turning, and pushing. He drew in a breath to shout to his mother, wherever she was in the house, that they were _very_ tired and would be down for dinner in an hour or three. He didn't get that far.

"Surpriiiiiiiise!" The chorus of voices made his jaw drop. His eyes, flickering over, evidenced an identical expression on Bones' face.

As the group descended on them, he whispered out of the side of his mouth to Brennan. "Did you…?"

"Had no idea," she managed back before they were jointly pulled into a bear hug by Booth's parents, flanked by family members he typically only saw during Christmastime.

"Wow, Mom," he forced out. "What's…all this?"

"I called Dr. Georges a few days ago to get an update, and he told me about the good news he was planning to give you today. I thought it was worth celebrating!" she said gaily, pulling back and giving Seeley a kiss on the forehead.

"Oh. So you decided to throw a party. In our house," Booth said slowly, processing.

"You wouldn't believe the finagling we had to do to get people parked where you wouldn't see!" his father's voice boomed. "But going back to work is a milestone in your recovery, Seel. It was worth all the planning just to see that look on your face!"

He must have been doing better than he thought. If he had to guess, the look on his face would have been mild horror and annoyance. "Jeez. Thanks…everyone."

"Now you just go have a seat, Sweetie," his mother said, pulling him through the crowd to the sofa. "All of these people have been dying to see you ever since you got out of the hospital, but I told them to just wait until you were back in good working order. And that time is now! Go ahead and visit. Temperance," she called over her shoulder, "why don't you come into the kitchen and help me with the hors d'oeurves? Seeley's going to visit."

He cast a helpless look over his shoulder at Brennan, who seemed to be taking a moment to mobilize. So much for their much-desired long "nap." He then lost sight of her as his family swarmed him, patting him on the back and congratulating him for the recovery that was apparently going to take just a little while longer to fully enjoy.

--

Her eyes shot back and forth, trying to get her bearings in her own kitchen. Her kitchen, which seemed to be currently taken over by other people's casserole dishes and pie pans.

"You grab the canapés, dear. I'll get the drinks together."

The canapés. Where…?

"Here, Temperance, let me help you." A flash of yellow sundress appeared beside her to save the day.

"Thanks, Leah," she said slowly, wondering how Jared's girlfriend suddenly seemed more at home in this place than Brennan herself did. The well-manicured woman easily pulled a tray out of the refrigerator with one hand and a pitcher of lemonade with the other. "Sorry. I'm just feeling a little disoriented. I hadn't been expecting to…entertain today." Glancing through entryway into the other room, she felt a little dazed at all the bodies that had fit themselves into one spot.

"Oh, it's not a problem. I live for events like this," the blonde told her with a smile. "You know, why don't you go out there and mingle? Ellen and I can handle all of this."

Booth's mother, who had been busily dropping ice cubes into glasses, turned and beamed at the suggestion. "Leah, sweetheart, you are an absolute Godsend. When is my son going to come to his senses and ask you to marry him?"

Leah smiled at the older woman. "You'd have to ask Jared that."

Brennan's head swam. "Actually…Leah, do you mind if I have a second with Mrs. Booth? Privately?"

"Oh. Sure," the other woman said tentatively. "Here, I'll take out the canapés."

"Thank you." Temperance smiled briefly until Leah disappeared out into the crowd, and then sighed as she turned to face Ellen.

"What is it dear?" the older woman said distractedly, while pouring lemonade into the glasses. "We have a whole roomful of people to take care of!"

"Um, yes. About that. Mrs. Booth, this is a really lovely gesture. But I really wish you would have told me about it. Neither Seeley nor I were prepared for all these guests."

"Well that's okay. I prepared," Ellen said brightly. "Don't you worry, I scrubbed this place from top to bottom today. Nothing to be embarrassed about."

She was missing the point. "How long are all these people going to stay?"

"Most everybody will be going home early evening; it's quite a drive. Except Ronald and his wife; she doesn't drive, and he doesn't see very well at night. They are going to stay on the pull-out couch. Can you hand me those lemon slices, please?"

Brennan chastised herself for not having anticipated this. Ellen's stay of "at least three weeks" had drifted into four, as she insisted "the kids" could use her help for as long as Seeley was unable to work. For the past several weeks, she had been regaling them with tales of all the people at home who were dying to see their family's favorite survivor. This was new territory for Brennan. She had never had someone so very anxious to involve herself in her _life._

Ellen looked absorbed in her lemon slices now, and even Brennan wasn't clueless enough to think that _this _was a good time for this discussion. It was going to have to wait until her house was not Grand Central Station. Sighing, she took the tray of drinks that was being thrust at her. What was she going to do now? Order everyone out of her house? 'Excuse me, Booths. I understand that you want to see Seeley. But I want to fuck him more'? Somehow, she doubted that would go over very well, so instead, she carried the drinks out to the throng of people and played hostess for the day.

--

His brother was sitting to his right, his uncle to his left, and they were laughing. Everybody in here seemed to be in a good mood. Except for him.

"You've finally done it, Seel," Jared was teasing him. "The accident thing, the coma thing, and now the recovery thing? You've finally upstaged me. Congratulations."

"Trust me, I'd rather not have had that honor," Booth replied dryly, snatching some sort of cracker snack off the plate proffered by Leah, who had emerged from the kitchen. He wondered where Bones was, and hoped that she hadn't taken the opportunity away from the crowd to slip out the back door, never to be seen again. Then again, he couldn't really blame her if she had.

"And you've sure been keeping Mom busy. How long are you planning on keeping her away from me and Dad?

Booth bit his tongue on that one. The truth was, he'd been encouraging his mother to go back home from the moment he was able to get out of the wheelchair. But she was the master of finding reasons that it would be better to have her stay, "just in case something happened." He loved his mother, for sure, but he hadn't needed this much coddling since he was 4 years old, and he was anxious to be free of it. "You're right, Jare. This whole thing was orchestrated just so I could have a live-in maid."

His uncle snickered. "Touchy." He reached around and nudged Jared on the shoulder. "Give the guy a break. He's an FBI guy. He's used to running around and catching bad guys and shooting shit. It can't feel good to not be able to clean your own toilet."

Booth winced. "I can clean my toilet just fine, now, thank you," he replied, just a little offended.

"Hey, that's Seel's fault," his father interrupted, easing down behind them to perch on the back of the couch. "If he didn't pick the fancy doctor type of woman to settle down with, he wouldn't _have _to have his mother here to cook and clean."

"Dad!" he exclaimed, horrified. His mind repeated the same mantra…_Please let Bones still be in the kitchen please let Bones still be in the kitchen please let Bones…_

"Anybody want a drink?" he heard a terse voice ask, and he saw his partner push through the crowd with a tray of glasses in hand.

_Crap._

"I'd love one," his uncle proclaimed, standing and relieving Temperance of several of the glasses by passing them to the surrounding guests. "We were just talking about you!" he told her.

"So I heard," she said, giving Booth a sideways glance as she set the tray down on the coffee table and eased down on the armrest, beside Jared.

_Crap crap crap._

His father appeared unabashed. "She knows that I'm not saying anything bad. I actually think it's great that you're such a smart cookie. It just leaves a few holes to be filled in a household, when there's no one around to act like the woman."

Booth shifted uncomfortably. "Can we change the subject, please?"

No such luck.

"Actually," Brennan said, swiveling a bit to look up at his Dad, "meta-analyses have proved time and time again that there is very little difference between men and women, in terms of personality or cognition, and when there are differences, they're insignificant. The gender differences that are more significant…throwing distance, physical aggression, amount of masturbation…have very little implication in the real world."

Oh God. His partner did NOT just mention masturbation in front of his Catholic family.

His father looked amused. "Well, I haven't read your scientific studies. But I don't need them to tell me there are more differences between boys and girls than that." He took a long swallow of lemonade.

Brennan blinked. "Any other differences are socially created. Or, are small ones that have been exaggerated so that we can feel more comfortable assigning people to categories. Human beings like categories. They make it so we don't have to think so much."

The din in the room had quieted a bit, and Booth could tell that this little discussion had garnered quite the interested audience. His mind worked desperately to come up with something to diffuse the situation. It didn't work fast enough.

"If that's true, so be it," his father declared. "I'm proud that I raised my boys to be boys. I think we did a good job, if this is how they turned out." He patted his sons on the back.

"Yes, you should be proud of your sons," Brennan replied smoothly, and Booth felt an odd combination of relief that she hadn't pushed further, and discomfort that she had given up so easily.

"We should all just feel glad that you didn't have any daughters."

Okay, scratch his last thought. Of course she didn't give up. She was Temperance Brennan.

He thought maybe he heard a few soft gasps in the room, and he knew for sure that Jared's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and his father's mouth dropped open.

"I'm going to go in and get more drinks," Temperance said, brushing her thighs off as she stood. "Anybody else want lemonade?" she asked brightly, and when no one responded, she cut through the crowd easily and disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving him to deal with 9 gaping family members who couldn't understand Temperance Brennan anymore than he did, when he was first coming to know her.

--

Brennan pulled the over-sized t-shirt over her head in the dim light of their bedroom—his t-shirt, of course, she never wore her own to bed anymore, hadn't since the accident where she had almost lost him. There was something comforting about being covered in something that was all his. Of course, she had had another (much more exotic) choice in sleepwear prepared for this night…the night after he was deemed healthy enough to pick up where they left off, before he had gotten hurt. But she also hadn't been expecting to have so many overnight houseguests on that particular night. So. Plans changed.

She turned as Booth emerged from their adjoining bathroom, rubbing at his face and looking tired. He sat down on the edge of their bed, and contemplated her. "My family honestly isn't full of assholes, all the time," he told her.

Frowning, she picked a brush off the vanity and began stroking her hair with it. "I don't think your family members are assholes." She thought about it for a second. "I just think they are very different from me." It was a bit of an understatement, but it was the truth, as she understood it.

Booth was quiet for a second as he watched her. "You really gave it to Dad good, didn't you?" he finally said, his look unreadable.

Oh, yes. That. She sighed. "I…was frustrated with the situation, I suppose. All those people here so unexpectedly, being expected to cater to them…and then, with your father talking about women that way?" In the midst of her explanation, she suddenly realized how selfish she must sound. "I'm sorry I made your party awkward, Booth."

The unreadable look changed then into something more recognizable…a smile. "It's okay. It's time for my family to learn how feisty you are." He held out his arms, and she gratefully sat next to him, dropping her head on his shoulder and allowing herself to be held by him. "My dad's not used to people challenging him. It was kind of interesting to see."

"Um, yes. I often end up challenging people. Whether I mean to or not."

"It's one of your many charms," Booth agreed. "Hey, on the bright side, I don't think my parents will ever spring a party on us again."

"I don't do well with springing," she admitted. She glanced up at him. "We can be on our own now, don't you think? Just be us again?"

"I can't see one possible reason why not," he promised her, and part of her glowed, allowing herself to believe that things might finally achieve some semblance of their old life again. Cupping his face, she met his lips with tenderness. His fingers skimmed the hem of her shirt at the top of her thigh, and she shivered a little, gripping at his bicep while he deepened the kiss. His fingers were trailing up the naked skin of her hip, reaching the bikini string of her panties, plucking at it a little to leave a pleasant sting. Then…

"Ron! Mary! Do you have enough pillows down there? Because I have extra up here!" Ellen's voice echoed in the hall from outside their door.

"We could use some more pillows!" came the shouted reply from downstairs

"Okay! Let me toss them down!" _Thump. Thump._

"Thank you!"

Booth pulled away from her, sighing, looking into her eyes.

"It's not right, tonight. Is it?" she said regretfully.

"One more day, gorgeous," she was promised, and she smiled a tiny smile. They had been waiting months. What was one more day?

One more day was an eternity. But for now, she contented herself with climbing under the covers with him, cuddling close, and feeling secure in the knowledge that soon, after the interminable wait, normalcy was on the horizon.

--

Booth had expected the first morning waking up early to go back to work would be difficult, but was pleasantly surprised when he woke up even before the alarm clock rang. He was ready for this. More than ready.

Giving Bones a soft kiss on the cheek so as not to disturb her into wakefulness, he rose from bed and shuffled carefully down the hall and down the stairs. It still took a slow movement and a tight grip on the railing. But it felt good to move again. He moved quietly passed the couple snoring away on the couch.

The light was on in the kitchen. "Mom, you're awake."

She smiled up at him from the table, wearing her pink robe and clutching a cup of steaming coffee. "I wanted to have breakfast ready for you for your first day back at work."

He couldn't help chuckling at the sentiment. "I feel like it's the first day of school after summer break, again."

"I miss those days," she said, ruefully. "You and your brother were so young and cute."

"Well I'm _still _cute," he insisted, and they laughed softly together.

"That, you are."

He eased down in one of the wooden chairs. "Mom, I really appreciate all you've done. But I think…it's okay for Temperance and me to be on our own now. We're both working, and I'm well on my way to being completely recovered. It's time for us to be grown-ups again."

Her face was impassive for a second. Then…"I agree."

"Really?" Apparently, he hadn't been expecting such an easy battle.

"Really. You and Temperance seem to have your own thing going on here. No full-time mothers needed in-house."

He released a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding. "Thanks, Mom."

"Not a problem. Besides, I think your father just might miss having me around." She winked at him as she stood, moving over to the cupboard and beginning to pull out bowls and pans there.

"Besides, you'll still get us on holidays," Booth promised, feeling the need to reassure her.

"Maybe more than that."

Wait. What?

"Huh?"

His mother opened the fridge, pulling out the carton of eggs. "Well, your father and I were talking a little bit before he left last night, about how, before the accident, you were so isolated out here. Family is important, Seeley. I know you get that, but I'm not entirely sure that Temperance does." She paused, cracking an egg on the side of a bowl.

"And…?" His relief was quickly turning into a sinking feeling.

"And, we've been talking about getting a new place for awhile. Down-sizing, you know? And we were thinking…there are some really lovely suburbs right outside of Washington D.C."

"You're…you're thinking about moving here." His heart nearly stopped.

His mother took no notice, while she serenely prepared his breakfast. "Wouldn't it be wonderful? I think it's time we start to show the new lady in your life just how lovely the good old-fashioned life can be."

--

**A/N: Loves. Lots.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hey all…a Septemberific update for you! I would imagine that this likely begins my for-real hiatus for the rest of this month and October, because of the three very exciting things that are happening starting next week…1. My bffff Kinsey Jo is **_**coming to visit me!! **_**For a whole week! **_**EEEEEEE! **_**We are gonna tear the East Coast **_**up! **_**2. I'm getting married next month! **_**EEEEEEEE! **_**Tres busy getting ready for that! 3. Then I'm going to Jamaica! EEE….okays, enough squealing. Still. Exciting! Anyways, when I'm done with all **_**that, **_**I shall return to you and hope you still love me. **

**Kisses and wedding favors to you all.**

**--**

"Bones! Come here! Look at me! I can _fly!"_

Thump.

She flicked her eyes warily off her laptop screen. Whatever was going on in the room next to her office did not sound like it could possibly be good for the furniture. Or the floor.

Thump.

"_Bones!!"_

Sighing and gathering her patience, she left her screen open as she followed the shrieks into the family room, where Parker Booth was attempting to kill himself (or so it would seem) by launching himself off the sofa onto the floor several feet in front of him.

"Parker, please don't do that."

He bounced a little on the cushions. "But Bones…"

"C'mon. You're either going to break the couch or a bone. And your father will have a fit if you do either. Get down."

The little boy crossed his arms, a mischievous grin crossing his face that was usually cute, but now just made her want to groan. "Come geeeeeet me."

"I'd really prefer if you just did it yourself."

"Ready, set…"

"Parker…"

"_Catch me!" _He tore off the couch at full speed into the kitchen, exposing the slight dirty stains he had made with his sneakers on the couch. Great. She rubbed her head. There was no way she was going to get much writing done this afternoon.

She knew what the problem was. It used to be that Rebecca brought Parker over early on Saturday, at which point he and Booth played full tilt until the middle of the afternoon. Then, Parker would take a nap for about an hour, which gave them time to get things done that they needed to do. Like, in her case, do a little bit of writing.

But now, as well as Booth was doing, he just wasn't yet up to the type of rough and tumble activities that typically tired his son out enough to nap. He left for his physical therapy appointment, promising to be back by the time Parker woke up. Except, of course, Parker never went to sleep. And he was in rare form today.

"Don't run in the house!" she called after him tiredly, bending over to pick up a few toys that were scattered around the floor. Usually she'd be more adamant about making him clean up himself, but right now she'd be lucky if she got him to stay still for two minutes. Which, even if she managed it, would leave 48 minutes until Booth came back. The phone rang, and she almost cried.

She picked it up. "Brennan…Parker, put that _down. _That's 246 years old!"

"Sweetie, I warned you to put all very old things and all very new things away when you had that child at your house."

Angela _had _warned her of that. "I know. And I do…except the stuff in my office. He's not supposed to go in my office."

"Hmm. Sounds like _that's _going really well."

"I'm assuming you are being facetious. In which case, I'll respond in kind with a resounding 'yes'."

"Well it sounds like I called at the perfect time then. Because I have _just _what the doctor ordered."

She frowned. "What is the doctor ordering?" She covered up the receiver as Parker skidded back into the room.

"Can I go outside, Bones?"

Well, at least he had asked. "Yes. Sure. Just stay where I can see you out the kitchen window, 'kay?"

"'Kay!" he said, cheerfully flying past her and out the kitchen door, into the backyard.

She wandered over by the sink, where she could keep an eye on him.

"Well," Angela continued. "Jack had made us reservations at this super-nice Jacuzzi suite in the mountains for a few days this week. But turns out there is some kind of bug convention those same days that he is feeling compelled to go to. We were all set to cancel the reservations, but then I thought, what two people do I know who would _really _benefit from some alone-time in the middle of nowhere?"

"Ange, that's so sweet of you. But I couldn't possibly accept an offer to go on _your _vacation." A glance out the window evidenced her partner's son dangling upside-down from a branch of the maple tree in the yard. Her heart beating overtime, she quickly opened the window. "_Stay on the ground, buddy!" _

He wrinkled his nose at her and flipped back around onto the grass.

"Don't be ridiculous, Bren. You and Booth deserve a break. I'm insisting."

_That _much was true. When Booth's mother left a week ago, she had looked forward to what she thought would be a more relaxed atmosphere. However, with Booth returning work, she hadn't counted on how tired and frustrated he would be, having had things pile up for months, and not being physically able to do the kind of work he wanted. He had also seemed a little far away at times, as if something was on his mind, but he didn't seem inclined to talk about it. Add to this the fact that her own work was stressful, and now they had a wound-up Parker to deal with for the weekend; a break _did _seem nice. Still…

"We have work."

"Weeeeell," Angela drew out, "I might have taken the liberty of getting the two of you a few days off of work."

Brennan blinked. "Okay, I can see how could have _possibly _talked Cam into that. But how the _hell _do you have influence over the FBI?"

"You'd be _amazed _at what I have influence over," her friend said ominously. "So anyway. Pack up. You're going to the mountains."

"Angela, I…" she was about to protest, when another look outside told her that Parker was halfway up the tree she has just told him not to climb on. "I've gotta run…I'll call you back," she promised, hanging up and immediately rushing outside, angry now for having been disobeyed approximately a dozen times since Booth had left…could it only have been 15 minutes ago? "_Parker Booth, you get down here immediately."_

Unaccustomed to seeing her angry, especially not at _him, _the little boy immediately became suspicious. "No."

Her eyes widened. _Seriously? _"Um. Yes. Climb down _right now."_

He hugged the tree trunk. "You can't make me."

"Parker, it's time to go to your room," she said, trying to remember what Booth typically threatened him with. "If you don't come down right now, you are going to have to stay there for the rest of the evening."

The child's eyes welled with tears, and she felt vaguely alarmed. She had given him an option so that that _wouldn't _have to happen. "I don't _want _to go to my room," he wailed plaintively. "I'm not _tired."_

"You don't need to sleep. You just have to _behave." _Reaching up, she grasped one of his ankles. "Come on. You can climb down, or get pulled down."

Crying in earnest now, he finally gave up his hold on the tree trunk and let Brennan lift him off the branch and scoop him down to the ground, where he immediately pulled away from her grasp.

"Go to your room. Fifteen minute time-out."

He stomped his feet, face bunched up and red. _"You're not my mother!"_

It amazed her that even though she had spent more time with a child in the past year than she had in her entire lifetime, she still did not feel as if she understood them any better. She was sending the kid to his room for fifteen minutes, not giving him a death sentence. "Uh, yes. That's true. I didn't give birth to you. But I _am _currently the adult responsible for you, so…I will discipline you in the way I see fit," she said, with more confidence than she felt.

A fresh torrent of tears came from Parker's eyes. "You're _mean. _I want _Daddy!" _he cried, as he turned and streaked into the house and up the stairs.

Following him inside, she heard his bedroom door slam. He might hate her, but at least he had followed her directive for the first time that day.

Flopping down on the couch, she covered her face with her hands, half-angry, half-hurt, and all frustrated at the situation. And not just the situation with Parker. The return to normalcy was taking longer than expected. Work was hard, Booth had been acting weird, she was tense, and she didn't even want to _think _about how long it had been since she had sex. Despite being given the go-ahead, it just hadn't seemed _right _with everything that had been going on. And now, to top it all off…she had apparently, in the past quarter of an hour, been magically transformed into the Wicked Stepmother. The irony being that she wasn't _even _Parker's stepmother…because Booth had _rejected _her marriage proposal. How had she _found _herself in this life?

She tried to go back to writing, but the words weren't coming. In fifteen minutes, she went upstairs to knock on Parker's door and tell him he could come out now, and was promptly informed that he had no intention of coming out until his Dad came home. Perfect.

When Booth finally _did _come home, she had been scrubbing at Parker's shoe-marks on the sofa. Hearing her partner enter the front door, she mentally talked to herself: _"Don't take this out on him don't take this out on him…"_

"Hey," he greeted her, giving her a curious look at her activities, then glancing around the room. "Where's the P-man? I thought he'd be awake by now."

She strove to keep her voice even. "He didn't go to sleep. He is hiding in his room because I am mean, terrible person who does not want him to kill himself falling out of a tree."

"Ah," Booth said, a faint smile coming to his face. "It finally happened, huh? You fell off the pedestal." He was chuckling.

Scowling, she replied. "There is nothing funny about this, Booth. I have no _idea _how to discipline a child. I don't…" She stopped herself before she said, 'I don't _need _this.' There were a lot of things that had happened in the past several months that she did not need. But she dealt with them, because she loved Booth.

"It's okay. I'm not criticizing," he said soothingly, reaching out and pulling her into a hug. "It sounds like you did just fine. I know, my kid can be a handful, when he puts his mind to it."

Pressing her cheek against his chest, she repressed the urge to expound upon Parker's ability to turn into Mr. Hyde at a moment's notice. Then she heard him murmur something cryptic.

"Maybe it could be a good thing…"

Pulling away, she looked at him questioningly. "Maybe what could be a good thing?"

He dropped his arms from around her, looking down evasively. "Well…"

Irritation resurged inside her. "Booth, you've been acting secretive all week. Dump it."

Wincing, he sat down, carefully avoiding the wet spot where she had been scrubbing the cleaner. "It's 'spill it,' Bones. And…I'm sorry. I don't mean to keep secrets from you. It's just, I know you've been stressed out, and I didn't want to add to that…"

"Just tell me!" she said, her voice rising up an octave in her frustration.

"Well…my parents are talking about moving to D.C. And…" his voice became quicker… "I was just thinking one good thing might be that they can spend some more time with Parker, keep him from getting so riled up."

She blinked, her mind having not processed anything after the letters "D.C." "I obviously misheard you. I thought I heard you say your parents are moving. Here."

He rubbed his head. "Yeah. They might. I knew you wouldn't be happy about it."

Her head swam, and the '_I don't need this' _was stirred up again, full force. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself into calmness. "How do _you _feel about it?"

"I can't stop them from moving here. They're adults," he replied, defensively. "And they're my _parents. _What am I supposed to say?"

"Booth, you _know _this isn't about…location. It's about _boundaries. _They want us to be like Jared and Leah." She had a brief flash of memory about the almost-disastrous surprise party that they had thrown for Booth, just last weekend: the assumptions that it was wanted, the expectations that she drop everything and play hostess, the invasion of her home by overnight guest. Not to mention the impossibility of staying quiet about his father's implied sexism. She pictured that, amplified…for the rest of her life. "This isn't good."

"I know it isn't good."

"So…are you going to _say _something?"

"Bones, I told you. I can't. This is family politics. There are some decisions that offspring just can't argue. We'll just need to be…understanding, you know, and patient…"

"_Patient!?" _It was the wrong word for him to have said to her today, when her supply of that very virtue had been exhausted. "You know what, Booth? I _have _patience. I sort of need it to do my work. Remember? My work?" She picked up one of her journals off the end table and tapped it for emphasis. "And for when Parker decides it's time to hate me. And for when my partner decides not to share important information about our _lives _with me. I don't _have _any leftover patience to deal with…_dinner parties _every night of the week!" Her voice was shrill now, and he was shrinking away from her.

"Temperance, I think you're exaggerating…"

It was too much, and she had reached her limit.

"_Yes. _I am exaggerating. I am exaggerating like the hormonal, unstable woman I am, right, Booth? Isn't that what your parents taught you? So _sorry _to inconvenience you with it. If you'll just excuse me, I'll take my exaggerations outside where they won't bother anybody." Leaving her partner staring wide-eyed, she stalked into the kitchen and out the back door, fuming all the way.

She flopped down in the patio chair, and found she had too much angry energy to stay sitting, so she stood and paced again, staring across the expansive backyard, which was currently littered with Parker's toys. How did she get here, indeed? One second, her world revolved around her lab, and the bones she examined. She had _liked _it like that. Now…everything seemed so much more complicated. She supposed that's what happened when a person ties their life inexorably to that of another…not only do their issues become yours, but differences that had previously seemed quite manageable now seemed to be magnified, taking up a greater portion of your world. After his accident, she had been more confident than ever that she wanted to be with Booth. But hell, all these other things that apparently came _with _Booth…she _still _didn't feel prepared for those. Not parenting, not family politics, and certainly not the possibility of having to deal with one of those two things _every day of her life. _

She didn't move as she heard the door tentatively creak open behind her, or when a strong pair of arms wrapped around her middle, a conciliatory chin dropping on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "You're right…I should have told you right away so we could talk about that. And, even though I can't force my parents' decision, I can talk to them about ground rules. This is our life, Bones. Yours and mine. I don't ever want you to feel uncomfortable in it."

Struggling with herself to stay cool, she spoke. "I feel like we don't even remember anymore what it's like…just you and me. And I don't know how we'll ever figure it out again, when other people keep intruding."

He listened silently to her concerns, still holding onto her.

Sighing, she turned, a sense of resignation filling her, not even believing the words that were about to come out of her mouth. "I think we might need to do something drastic."

Booth's eyes became round. "Like what?"

Eyes turning heavenward, she shook her head in regret. "I think…we might need to take a vacation."

--

**A/N: I knoooow…I had totally intended on letting the poor kids scrog this chapter. But I got caught up in having them deal w/the realities of family life. I promise, will not let them (or you) frustrated forever. Forgiiiive me.**

**Loves.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Back! Wedding…was awesome. Honeymoon…was awesome. You….are awesome. A million hugs and smooches for all your well-wishes for me…I think you all brought the sunshine on my wedding day.**

**I couldn't wait to come back and write…I feel all refreshed! So here's something new for you on the Be With Me front…keep talking to me about what you think! Loooves.**

**--**

He squinted a little into the dimming light of the sunset overtop the trees, which were a lovely vibrant orange and red. He'd be much more apt to enjoy the gorgeous view, if he had an idea about where the hell they were. Glancing over at his partner, who was sitting stiffly in the car next to him and staring straight ahead, his only sense of relief came from the fact that this "vacation" hadn't been _his _idea. Rolling to a stop at a vee in the dirt roads, he sighed.

"You don't have any idea which of these paths leads to Ange and Jack's Amazing Mountain Palace of Love, do you?" he asked.

She looked at him, her arms crossed. "I told you we should have taken my car. It has a GPS system."

He scowled. "Well who knew this place would be such a mystery? Besides, GPS needs a signal to work. And we don't get one out here." He gestured to his phone, lying in the center console between them. Zero bars of reception.

"Of course we don't," she said a little tightly. "If we did, then we could just call this place and ask them how to get there. But that would be too easy."

Struggling not to respond to her snappiness with more of the same, he took a deep breath. Things had only been getting more and more tense between them. They kept it on a surface level, bickering about what to make for dinner, what time they got home from work…the little things. But Booth had no illusions about what was going on underneath. She was angry about his unwillingness…no, his _inability _to confront his parents about their impending intrusion on their lives. And he was angry at himself for the same reason. But he was also frustrated by her seeming refusal to understand just how hard this was for him. He loved his parents…they had been there through most every hard moment of his life. His mother just nursed him through a fucking coma, into almost full health. It killed him, to imagine her face if he were to tell her she wasn't wanted.

Although, he wasn't sure if it would kill him any quicker than Bones' icy stare.

"Right is sounding pretty good," he decided, veering that way down the dirt road. The sun disappeared. The sunset, clouds, or just dense foliage? He couldn't quite tell anymore.

Bones turned her face again to look out the window. "When given two equally attractive options in two directions, most people will go the direction of their dominant hand. It's not 'good.' It's just human nature."

He frowned, annoyed. "'Kay, Miss Know-It-All." Hopefully this time away would be good for them. Let them relax a little bit. Or at least make them not want to hurt each other. Of course, all this was dependent on them actually _finding _the damn place.

They drove for approximately ten minutes before the first heavy droplets of rain hit the windshield.

"Do you suppose it's just falling from the trees?" he asked, leaning forward and looking up. It was getting too dark to see much of anything.

Wishful thinking. Just a few seconds later, those few drops turned into a steady pattering. A long sigh emanated from the woman next to him.

"Booth. Let's just go back. We didn't know where we were going when it was light out. I don't want to drive around in the dark and the rain and get more lost."

"It might just be around the corner," he said, ever optimistic.

"Or it might be in the opposite direction. It was stupid of me to accept Angela's offer…we have things to do at home and at work. We shouldn't even be here."

He was distressed. By everything…the rain, Bones' attitude, the whole, barely-spoken issue between them. He remembered their last Caribbean vacation…the long days spent lounging together on unspoiled beaches, paying no mind to anything except one another's company. It had been so very easy. And he very nearly had to laugh, because in those days, he had thought it was complicated…forging their new relationship, with both of them being so very different. He should have had enough experience to know better. Beginning a new relationship was the easy part. Maintaining it? A much larger challenge.

There was no way, right now, that this vacation had the potential to be anywhere near as magical as that first one.

"Okay."

She raised her eyebrows. "Okay?"

"Okay. Let's go back."

Her eyebrows stayed risen, but she made no word, either of agreement or protest.

Backing the car into a small clearing, he turned it around, the stones grinding under his tires. The new destination: same old shit. Only this time, with thunder growling ominously over the treetops.

It was another few minutes before he heard it…over the rain on the windshield, over the thunder, over the painfully loud silence between him and his partner. "Do you hear that?"

"What?"

"That…grinding sound."

They were silent for a second. "I guess," she said doubtfully. "The engine sounds a little rougher than usual."

"That's not good. I should take a look."

The annoyance in her voice wasn't even disguised anymore. "Look at it when we get home, Booth. The rain's only going to get heavier, and we should get off the mountain before it pours."

"It'll just take a second," he said, pulling off to the side of the path, ears pricked and trying to identify that particular rumbling sound.

"I'm tired. Can't we just wait?"

His patience had run just as thin as hers apparently had. "Just a minute, dammit. I don't want to drive home with a bad engine."

"You're going to get soaked," she protested, but he was already halfway out the door.

_Jesus, _he thought as he zipped up his jacket and popped the hood of the SUV. _This trip had been _her _suggestion. And now all she could do was complain and make _him _feel stupid. Sure, things hadn't been great lately. Sure, she probably actually had good reason to be annoyed with him. But that didn't give her permission to act like a passive-aggressive bit…_

His attention was pulled again by the anomalous noise coming from the now-exposed engine. He fiddled with a few of the surrounding wires. "Okay," he shouted. Bones put down the window an inch to hear. "Turn off the engine, and turn it back on again."

He was glad he couldn't see her annoyed facial expression through the rain-spattered windshield. In a second, the car turned off. Then…nothing. "Turn it back on!" he shouted, irritated about having to be in the increasingly abundant rainfall any longer than necessary.

"I'm trying!" came back an equally-irritated scream. "Nothing's happening."

Pausing, he prayed he hadn't heard her right. He did another quick rewiring job. "Try again."

Nothing. The thunder rumbled again, louder this time. The flash of lightening filtered through the trees. He tipped his head back and laughed.

God hated him.

--

Brennan sat in the back of the SUV, having lowered the back seats and tossed some of the luggage into the front. She twisted and lifted herself to pull off her jeans and pull on her yoga pants; as she shifted up, she promptly banged her head on the roof. She cursed, not softly.

Booth glanced back from his position in the driver's seat, from which he hadn't moved in the past 15 minutes. "You okay?"

"Just great," she fumed, sitting back down and redirecting the flashlight so that she could see what she was doing. This was the worst idea she had ever had. They didn't need more time together. They probably would do better with some more time _apart. _Because as it was, all she could think about was the fact that it was _his _baggage that had made her consider this trip to the wilderness, _his _fault that they had gotten lost, and _his _fault for turning off the car (when she had asked him to just keep driving), leaving them stranded in this Godforsaken place. They had jointly decided that (after Booth had over-exhausted his effort to get the engine working again) that it made the most sense to wait until morning, when it was light and dry enough to find their way back to the highway, where their cell phones would work and they could call AAA. But that meant approximately 10 hours of being in this cold, dark, place with someone she sort of wanted to scream at right now.

He hadn't had his promised talk with his parents about boundaries; she knew it. And with every passing day, she was growing more tired of feeling like a nagging shrew, and tenser with every contact with Booth's parents ('We're coming down next weekend to look at places! Can we stay with you?'). It wasn't conducive to her work…even Zack had noticed that she seemed more uptight than usual, and he rarely noticed _anything _about his friends' emotional states…and it definitely wasn't conducive to their stunted love life. Hence agreeing to this trip being the worst mistake she had ever made.

A huge groan left her partner, as he finally pushed himself from his seat and through the narrow space to the back of the SUV. "Stop it."

Her hands were fumbling behind her back, under her shirt, trying to unhook her bra. Now, she looked at him. "What?" she snapped, finally undoing the garment and pulling it out through the sleeve of her t-shirt.

"I can feel you judging me," he groused, struggling to find a spot in the limited space to stretch his legs and pull off his shoes. "It's seeping from your pores."

"Judging is a mental process. It doesn't come from your pores. It comes from your brain."

"God, Bones, I know that…" he said, frustratedly. He pulled his belt from its loops and whipped it to the front of the car. "It's not my fault that the damn car broke, okay?"

"Fine. Can we just get some sleep?" She wrestled the spare blanket from the corner.

"It's ten o'clock."

"What else do you suggest we do? Play checkers? We are stuck. In a car. In the rain. In the dark. Overnight." She flipped to her side, away from him, cocooning herself in one corner of the blanket. The material of the floor below her was rough, not meant for sleeping on. She couldn't extend her legs the whole way. As Angela would say…this sucked. She heard him cursing as he fumbled with his clothes. "You're going to get cold."

"In case you haven't noticed, my clothes are wet. I'm going to get colder if I wear them."

She pulled the blanket tighter around herself. "I wonder why," she murmured, a little more loudly than she intended. Suddenly, the car was plunged into darkness as he snapped off the flashlight and flopped down beside her. His body was icy where it touched hers, and his breath was warm.

"At least I won't be the coldest thing in this car," he grumbled, and she caught his meaning immediately. It took everything in her not to flip around, turn back on the flashlight, and tell him off. She forced herself to lie still and face straight ahead.

"We wouldn't even be out here if you would have just handled the situation with your parents from the get-go," she hissed in a whisper. "We wouldn't have had to get away, because there would have been nothing to get away _from."_

His voice was similar hushed, yet filled with venom. "Yeah, Bones. It's my parents' fault that we got lost. They probably made it rain, too."

"That's not what I was implying, or the point." Her body was being to feel warm, despite the fall night chilliness in the car…a physical manifestation of her anger. "You've let them become more of a force in your life than anything else. You said that _our _lives are the most important, but you haven't been acting like it."

He had move a little closer to be heard as the pinging of the rain began beating down especially hard on the car's roof. "Give me a fucking break, Bones. It wasn't that long ago that I came out of a _coma. _Sorry I can't jump right back into being the man you want me to be."

"How about being a man, period? You can't use the coma excuse forever, Booth." She felt him stiffen behind her, and knew she had touched a nerve. And she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it.

"You are _seriously _attacking my manhood right now?" he asked. His voice held an odd combination of incredulousness and a healthy dose of being pissed.

She fought to stay composed. "Take it whatever way you want," she whispered.

There was a second of silence from him, and in it, she almost felt bad about hurting his feelings. Then he grabbed her. Grabbed her by the hip, and pulled her lower body to him, hard.

"Say what you want, baby. But I'm _always _a man." It was sneered more than anything. But she barely heard.

Oh. Oh. Oh, fuck. He was hard.

There was part of her…a _big _part…that wanted to shove him away disgustedly. They were _fighting, _for God's sake. She wanted to yell at him, scream at him…she certainly didn't want to have _sex _with him right now, or let him touch her like this. But yet…

It had been so very long. Her angry mind didn't care. But her body…Jesus. At that one touch, it _ached. _Instinctively, her bottom arched against him.

"I think she likes it," he mocked, softly, hand kneading her hip and his breath tickling the back of her ear. But she didn't miss the tremble in his voice.

They had been intimate a few times, since they were given the go-ahead. They had given each other pleasure with their fingers and their lips and the sheer joy of being close. But God help her, she missed being penetrated…the slide and the stretch and the feeling of fullness when he was inside of her, squeezing hard around him and tempting him to thrust into her, forcefully, the whole time grunting into her ear and making that tension in her belly rise to its shattering point…thinking about it was the wrong move. She was wet instantly, embarrassingly so, and everything in her throbbed with desire. Reaching back, she squeezed him through the material of his sweatpants. "Are you just going to talk about it, or are you going to fuck me?" she asked, with a cockiness she wasn't truly feeling anymore.

For the first time since they began their sniping session, he didn't sound so confident. "Temperance…"

"Booth," she said, more harshly than she meant. "_I need you. I've been needing you. Please."_

It was the most honest thing she could say right now, and it worked. Trembling fingers worked their way under the elastic of her pants, easing the down so they rested right under her ass…a brief struggle while he similarly attended to his own sweats…then he was there, pressing against her in the way she would never forget, and her eyes fluttered shut, her strangled moan almost lost in the sound of the beating rain.

--

He couldn't believe this.

Since the moment he had been well enough to have the thought, he had contemplated what he wanted this second "first" time to be like. Their _real _first time had been unplanned, and he imagined something much more deliberate…soft music, candlelight. He'd seduce her with soft kisses and whispered endearments, teasing her until she was begging for him to take her to bed. Once there, filled with renewed appreciation for one another (after they had almost _lost _one another), they would spend long hours exploring each other's body, prolonging the encounter until neither of them could stand being separate anymore. They would make love slow, and then fast, relearning and reveling in the pleasure they could give to one another…_for _one another. It was the only acceptable way of reinitiating their sexual lives together…which is why it hadn't happened yet. There never seemed to be enough time or energy, the circumstances never seemed perfect. And he wanted it to be perfect.

But instead…here they were, in the cargo space of his car, in the middle of fucking stormy nowhere. There were no kisses, no words of love. All there was was raw need…he heard it in her voice, felt it in his own loins, and he was helpless against it. He had almost forgotten how badly he yearned for her. Now it came back, huge and blazing and unmistakable. He thrust into her, harder and quicker than he had intended, and was startled by her groan. Had he hurt her? But then she shoved her hips back into his, reached back and grabbed his ass, forcing him inside of her even deeper and faster than before, and he realized he wasn't hurting her. He was making her come.

He growled, a primal sound, and gave into any remaining lust that was still pent up inside of him, pistoning into her with force while she moaned her assent. Yes. Be a man, period, she had said. He was going to fucking be her man. Only a real man would make her scream _this _loud. Roughly, he pushed his hand to the front of her, to where they were joined, then higher. Finding her clit, he rolled his wet thumb around it before beginning pinching it in time with his thrusts.

"_Fuck," _she squealed, jerking against his hand, then back again against his hips, and the pure sexuality behind her vocalization shot straight through his body and into his balls. She felt tighter and wetter than he had ever remembered, and he felt a burst of emotions…satisfaction in making her want him this way. Grief at it not being the way he wanted. Anger at how she provoked him…_always, _ever since they had met. Love. Always, that fucking love.

She was coming, sweat dampening her hair that was sure to be cold once this was over, twitching against his cock and his hand, and the milking of her around him was too much for his overtaxed body to bear. His climax hit him with a force that was almost painful, forcing the air from his lungs, and his strangled cry joined hers and the sound of the rain and thunder. He shuddered for what seemed like hours, burying his face in the back of her neck and hoping desperately that the wetness he felt on his forearm was sweat, and not her tears.

It got cold fast. He pulled her to him tightly before tucking the blanket around them. The rain seemed to be falling more softly now. He prayed it would be dry again in the morning.

"Bones…"

"_Shh," _she whispered, her voice mumbly and spent. "I needed it."

Is that what they needed? He couldn't tell right now. He felt like he didn't know anything, couldn't control anything.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep waiting for the rain to stop.

--

**A/N: Bwahaha. I can't believe you all thought I was ACTUALLY going to let them take a fun vacation. What do you think this is? Talk to Me? Noooo. This is Be With Me. A whole new, angstier ball game.**

**I know…you hate me. But remember, it's only chapter 17…can't make it through 30 chaps without a little drama. Stay with me. Love me. Trust me:)**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I don't blame you if you have forgotten about this story…but **_**I **_**haven't forgotten about it, and I certainly don't plan to. I heart you, my faithful readers.**

**Thanks to the lovely Mia for looking over this, and me.:)**

**--**

She paused mid-stream of water being poured from the cup to the plant hanging by the kitchen window. That was definitely a _thump _she had heard coming from the front of the house. There shouldn't be any thumps. There should be dead silence. There is was, again. It was only Saturday; Booth and Brennan should have only begun their weekend getaway, and if it were them, she should be able to see their car in the driveway through the window.

This was simply wonderful. She was here for _five minutes, _and someone was already trying to break into their new house.

Not on Angela Montenegro's watch.

Inching towards the front of the house, where the commotion outside was becoming ever more obvious, she picked up the poker from the fireplace along the way. Tiptoeing to the door, she slowly brought the metal rod up over her shoulder. He must be picking the lock. He was going to get a nasty surprise at this particular "empty" house.

The door creaked open, and Angela didn't waste any time, rushing towards the intruder bellowing all the way, which in hindsight was a bad idea. Well, it _would _have been a bad idea, if it would have been an intruder. As it was, it gave Brennan time to yell her name, and Booth time to reach out and easily catch the swinging poker, the metal hitting his hand with a smack.

"Jesus, Angela," he fumed, as she let go of her makeshift weapon in shock.

"_Sweeties. _You scared me."

"We scared _you?" _Brennan asked incredulously, recovering remarkably quickly and reaching back onto the porch step to grab the bag she had left there. "We just came home, and you tried to kill us!"

"Well I didn't know it was you," the artist replied defensively. "You're not supposed to be here until Tuesday. And I didn't see your car…" She looked out the open door. "Where _is _your car?"

Booth had redeposited the poker by the fireplace, and was heading back outside to bring in the remaining bag. "The car broke down. The people from the repair place dropped us off."

"Oh my God," she said plaintively. "You guys just can't catch a break, can you?" Followed by a smack on Booth's arm. "What's wrong with you? You should have just had them drop you off at the cabin. You _know _Jack or I would have taken care of the car stuff and picked you up on Tuesday."

"Would you stop trying to hit me?" he said irritably, tossing the bag into the corner of the room before collapsing in the armchair, rubbing his face.

For the first time, she really looked at her friends…rumpled, disheveled, dark circles under their eyes, looking positively drained. Certainly, they had a stressful night, but their countenances reflected a sort of weariness for which the inconvenience of car problems alone could not account. It should have made her feel sympathetic, but instead she just found herself being annoyed. They shouldn't even be here right now. She hadn't sent them away for a vacation, per se. She had sent them away so they could have time to appreciate being together again, and their being here felt like a distinct rejection of that gift.

"Thanks for trying to help, Ange. We appreciate it." Brennan approached her tiredly, putting a comforting hand on her arm. "You can go though. It's just not going to happen."

Angela's eyes narrowed as she looked at her friend. "I don't think so."

Brennan's eyebrows rose. "Excuse me?"

"Sit." Angela gave her a small push, which propelled her onto the couch cushions. "I gave you guys a chance to work this out on your own, and you didn't take it. So I apparently have to be here for this."

Booth made an attempt. "Angela, our car broke down. It's hardly a cause for an intervention."

"Shut up, Booth," she said, as kindly as possible, before turning back to Brennan. Bren had been her best friend since sophomore year chemistry, and she knew better than to try to get rid of her when she was on a mission. "What's up, Sweetie?" she asked, gentle now.

Brennan's shoulders slumped. "Booth's family is going to move here."

"That isn't for sure yet," the agent spoke up defensively.

"It's probably going to happen, and he's not doing a damn thing about it, and we don't agree about that," she finished, earning a petulant look from the man on the chair.

Angela blinked. "I knowyou aren't telling me that after _everything _you two have been through, the thing that's pulling you apart is _in-law issues."_

"They _aren't _my in-laws," Brennan informed her dryly.

"Like it matters," Booth shot back.

"I'm just stating the semantic inaccuracy of…"

"Guys. No. Wrong," Angela interrupted, snapping her fingers and taking a seat on the other end of the couch from Brennan. "Not helpful."

But they were already escalating. "Bones wants me to tell my family to stay the hell away from us."

"I never said that."

"You don't have to."

"_You _said you'd prefer them not to move. Because you _know _how intrusive they'd be. But I'm starting to think you _want _them to intrude."

At least they were showing a little life again, but it wasn't going the way Angela had hoped. "I'm not going to ignore my family in deference to you. Just because you hate the idea of a family doesn't mean I can just forget about mine."

Her voice hushed a bit. "That's not fair. You know I don't feel that way."

The hurt look on Brennan's face made Angela almost regret starting this line of conversation, but it didn't stop her from trying to salvage what was left. "Stop. Just…stop." Deciding to try a different tactic in her impromptu, amateur counseling attempt. "Bren. Can you tell me what "family" means to you?"

She was glowering. "Anthropologically speaking, family means…"

"No. Not anthropologically speaking. From your experience."

There was a pause, and when she spoke her voice was full of annoyance…at Angela, at Booth, at the situation, at being asked these questions, and at the fact she was so connected to these people at this point, that there was no more option to just walk away. "From my experience? From my experience, families are little more than trouble, once a child is old enough to fend for itself. Families leave legacies of emotional issues and interfere with autonomy and identity development. No matter how good their intentions…families _hurt _people. Just look at the people we know." She was no longer talking to any particular person in the room. "Zack was so lost in the milieu of his enormous family, that he is socially stunted. Hodgins' parents were so involved in their world of business and making money, that he became paranoid and mistrustful of people and their motives." Now she was on a roll. "Angela, the fact that your dad was never around…well, you have commitment issues."

Angela's mouth dropped open, but nothing came out.

"And Booth…" Brennan finally focused on him again. "Your family thrives on guilt. You can't say no to them without feeling like a bad son."

"She's turned into fucking Dr. Freud over here," Booth was muttering under his breath in disbelief, and Angela understood his frustration right now. But she also knew where all this was coming from, and it kept her from screaming at Brennan on numerous occasions.

"And you, Bren? What did your family do to you?" she asked her quietly, fully expecting and accepting the murderous glance it drew to her.

"My family was great," Brennan told her, her voice holding a definite hint of bitterness. "Until they decided to abandon me and my brother to pursue a life of crime." She looked so tired at the moment that all Angela wanted to do was go over and hug her. "Families mean well," she said softly. "But they end up hurting us."

"So _your _family made you distrust families," Angela said quietly, holding back, making her friend deal with this.

Brennan laughed humorlessly. "Why do you think I never wanted to get married? Never wanted to have any kids? I don't need to be responsible for damaging other people, under the pretense of love."

Angela could see Booth struggle with this...this completely foreign concept of families seen as anything other than the ideal state of being. In his world, family was paramount, no matter how much they vexed him, no matter how complicated it got—for him, the benefits _always _outweighed the drawbacks. Perhaps because, at the end of the day, _his _family had always been there.

Brennan's hadn't.

It was easy for Angela to understand this, and to sympathize with Brennan. It was easy for her to accept, and a problem she was willing to work around to be friends with her. But she knew that being in a _romantic _relationship was an entirely different ball game, and their was a moment where she had to look away from the miserable-looking couple in front of her, lest they see the doubt that seeped into her eyes. She, as much as _anyone, _wanted them to avoid their star-crossed fate…but could _anybody _overcome the fundamental level of difference between these two people?

The immense relief she felt could barely be described, as Booth raised stiffly from his chair, walked the few strides to the couch, and settled in beside Brennan, as close as a person could be to another without actually touching her. It reminded Angela of the earlier days of their partnership, before they had admitted their feelings to one another; she had often wondered if the two had any concept of how minimal was their proximity. She had always half-expected to walk into Brennan's office one day and find her literally in Booth's lap, both of them entirely nonchalant and not even aware of their compromising position.

"I love you, Bones," he said quietly. "I really do. And I want to understand you. But I can't believe in what you're saying. Because _I'm _your family now…and if what you are saying is true, then that means I will damage you, hurt you. And I'd rather die, you get that? If that's what families are…then we can never be one. And that's unacceptable."

Brennan was studying his eyes in that way that she did, reading a language there that she was still new at interpreting. "Booth, I…" She paused, and glanced over at Angela, who was still watching intently.

It took the artist a moment for it to register that this was the point where having a third party present was likely awkward. "Oh. Yes." She stood. "Well. My work is done here." She began gathering her purse and sweater. "I watered all the plants downstairs. I guess…you're on your own now."

And they were. She would be a friend to them in the best way she knew how, and support them in any path that led them to each other. But at the end of the day…only Booth and Brennan could mend what was broken in them.

She would have to trust them to do just that.

--

She unpacked the untouched items of her suitcase slowly in the bedroom that had been theirs for months, but they had yet to make love in. She was still unsettled by the events of the past 24 hours, and what it meant to her and Booth and their lives together. Briefly, she missed her old apartment, which at this point held more happy memories for the two of them than did this house. All she wanted was to feel like she was home again.

Booth slipped in quietly, observing her for a moment before fully entering and sitting on the edge of the bed. He was wordless for a long while, watching the soothing repetition of her movements.

"I feel bad about the way things happened last night," was what he said when he finally spoke, his eyes cast downwards now.

She paused in her unpacking for just a second before continuing. The sex they had was physically satisfying to her; not just her biological urges sated, but her anger given an outlet, an intensely pleasurable, yet punishing way to release the storm within her. Years ago, it would have been enough…there wouldn't have been anything she'd miss from that encounter. But now…

Now she knew better.

Still, it was a difficult thing to admit.

"I missed sex." She told him the half-truth simply, as if it explained everything.

"I missed you. I still do."

Dammit. How did he do that?

"Booth, I…"

He silenced her with a finger to his own lips, and she looked at him questioningly. He reached across the bed to the phone that was on the nightstand and dialed it, pausing for a moment and holding it to his ear. "Hey, Mom, Dad. I need to talk to you. It's kind of important. Give me a call as soon as you get a chance." He waited a beat. "I love you." Hitting the button to end the call, he stared at the receiver for a second before setting it aside.

She watched curiously, not entirely understanding what had just transpired right away. "Booth?"

Her partner sighed. "It's not worth it, Bones. If standing up to my parents is what I have to do to get us back to good, that's what I'll do. You're my family now…and I _won't _let that fall apart."

Eyes widening at his words, she felt a strange mix of relief and guilt. This was what she wanted, right? For Booth to choose her over his parents. But more than that…she wanted him to be happy. If this was going to hurt him…she wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. "Booth…"

"Shh." He placed a finger over her lips, for the second time. "It's what I always needed to do."

The clothes she had been holding fell back into the suitcase as she searched his eyes for any hint of regret. She saw none.

When his hand fell away, she spoke. "Is this strange? How we've been feeling."

He chuckled. "This…this is a relationship. It's hard work."

"Oh." She glanced downward for a moment. "I was under the impression that us getting together was the hard part."

"Nope." He shook his head. "The staying together…that's always the hard part."

"Hmm." Her head cocked, considering this. "Do you think…you know…it's worth it?" She knew the answer, but she needed to hear it from him.

Luckily, he was not offended. "Every second," he told her, reaching out once more to cup her cheek and give her a smile.

The look he gave her was warm and reassuring and relaxed and so very _Booth…_the Booth before the accident, and before things had become so complicated. It filled her with a sense of calm and peace that usually only came from accurately reconstructing long-shattered remains, or putting the very last finishing touches on her new novel.

She smiled back, gratefully.

His hand dropping, he tugged on her arm. "Come on."

"I'm not done unpacking," she complained, following him nonetheless while casting a wistful look over her shoulder at the half-full suitcase.

"It's not going anywhere," he told her, coming to a rest in front of the bathroom. Fingers sliding under the hem of his sweatshirt, unceremoniously pulling it over his head.

Her eyebrows rose as she looked at him questioningly.

"We got caught in the rain, spent the night in a car, and walked miles today. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling like a shower."

"We also had sex," she pointed out, taking his point and also beginning to undress.

"Thanks for pointing that out, Bones. I might have forgotten."

They removed their clothes without seduction, and it was okay…there was a relaxed easiness in their motions, a comfort in watching him test the water with his hand like she had seen him do a hundred times, waiting a full 5 minutes before deciding that it was the perfect temperature. Climbing inside, they shared the space companionably, washing themselves and taking turns stepping under the spray to rinse the awful night off them.

As he took his turn underneath the showerhead, she massaged conditioner into her hair and looked at him interestedly as he groaned in pleasure at the hot water.

"You've been working out," she noted, watching as he ran the washcloth over the stomach that was again beginning to show sharp definition. "Did your physical therapist say that was okay?"

Opening his eyes, he smiled at her amusedly. "Are you complaining?"

"Nooo," she replied, just a little defensively. Ever since Booth's accident, her top priority concerning him was that he healed, and didn't get hurt again. It had almost become habit to worry about his health over everything else. Now, even though he was so close to being recovered…a small surge of guilt went through her for ogling his body.

He smirked a little. "I promise. Everything I do is approved by the docs." Showing off, he flexed his pecs a bit for her.

She laughed, and was almost startled by how good it felt. "You're ridiculous," she told him, placing a hand on his side and pushing him out of the way so she could take his place under the spray and tilt her head back, letting the conditioner rinse down her back, dripping with a wet spatter on the shower floor. It produced an auditory memory of the rain beating down against the roof of the car, angry whispering in the dark night, and then…

"Are you cold?" he asked her, concerned at her sudden shiver.

"The water's starting to cool down," she told him, and it was true…the hot had turned to lukewarm. But that wasn't the source of her goosebumps.

Placing his hands on her forearms, he gently maneuvered her out from under the water, himself taking the brunt of the cooling spray. "Better?" he asked her softly.

His hands were warm on her arms, but her freshly-washed hair was dripping, her skin prickling and her nipples tightening. "I don't know," she whispered, meeting his eyes.

He studied her for a moment, his hands staying firmly in place, and his gaze traveling down her body, and back up again, settling on her face.

"Better," he declared, making a decision and crushing her against him.

A kiss. It was one of the things that was missing last night, so she felt starving for it. She drank the moisture from his lips, pressed her breasts against him, wrapped her arms around him and reveled in the face-to-face, body-to-body contact.

They became drenched, the water pouring over their faces making it hard to breathe and hard to kiss, and when she _couldn't _breath, she merely wrenched him backwards, out of the spray and nearly falling against the back tiles of the shower. "Booth," she gasped as he pressed into her, slippery hands grasping at her ass and grinding her against him.

He separated from her for a moment, making her whimper at the loss, but it was only to slam his hand against the knob that controlled the shower. The spray stopped, and he nearly ripped the curtain aside, pulling her back into his embrace and stumbling over the side of the tub. They held each other up as they stepped over the obstacles in the tiny room, not bothering to grab towels along the way.

In the bedroom, he swiped her suitcase off the bed, and later she'd complain about having to pick all her previously-folded clothes off the floor. But now, she simply allowed herself to be laid out, soaking wet against the blankets, while he nuzzled the moisture off her body. She had told him she had missed sex, and it had been only partly true. She missed that moment of profound, heartstopping connection right before he slid inside of her and whispered in her ear…sometimes endearments, sometimes curses, but always something that made her feel so incredibly desired and cherished. She missed that moment with the only person she had _ever _felt truly _together _with.

And in the moment when she experienced it again, she recognized the things that had stayed the same.

As they lay beside each other afterward in twin exhausted, damp piles, he turned his mouth to her ear with effort.

"Families sometimes hurt us, Bones. But sometimes…they pull us together."

Her head lolled towards him. "We pull ourselves together," she insisted lazily, feeling herself being inexorably moved towards the sleep she barely got last night.

Right before conscious thought abandoned her, she heard: "That's because we _are _family. We always have been."

And she found that to her tired mind, fatigued from several weeks' defenses…that thought seemed perfectly lovely.

--

**A/N: I promised a few folks a little bit of a happy ending after my last, angsty fic. Don't get TOO comfortable…I can't tell you that there will be NO more drama-rama coming here. But for now, we shall just give our poor kids a nice break.**

**Also, for anybody who hasn't discovered yet what exactly has been occupying much of my fic-writing time, I direct you to the Pas de Deux thread on my homepage link (in my profile). Tres exciting, I tell you.**


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